
Seattle’s minimum wage will definitely increase starting on January 1, 2025. All businesses in Seattle, regardless of size, will now be required to pay employees the new minimum wage of $20.76 per hour. The new rate was announced last week. However, even the previous minimum wage gave Seattle the distinction of having the highest minimum wage of any major city.
Updated wage
The current 2024 minimum wage is $19.97 per hour for large employers. Smaller employers who meet certain criteria pay a lesser minimum wage. The small employers who meet the criteria currently pay $17.25 per hour. The following is the criteria that must be met in order to pay a lesser minimum wage:
- employees earn at least $2.72 per hour in tips
- OR employers contribute at least $2.72 per hour towards employee medical benefits
Another new change
However, there’s another change under the newly updated Wage Ordinance. Small businesses in Seattle will no longer be allowed to count the aforementioned customer tips or payments towards medical benefits as part of the minimum wage.
This means that all businesses in Seattle must now pay the flat rate of the new minimum wage of $20.76 per hour regardless of tips or medical benefits. According to the Office of Labor Standards, “Small businesses will no longer be able to make up any part of the minimum wage with tips or medical benefits paid to their employees.”
A statement from the Mayor’s office
Last week after the Office of Labor Standards announced the new 2025 minimum wage increase and structure, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released the following statement, “Seattle has one of the highest minimum wages in the country – this is a good thing for workers, a good thing for our overall economy, and something we should take pride in. As one of the leading members of the original team who developed Seattle’s groundbreaking minimum wage legislation, my mission is the same now as it was then – ensuring Seattle is both a great place for workers and a great place for small businesses.”
You can read more about the 2025 minimum wage increase and structure here.