Washington State Minimum Wage Increases to $14.49 in 2022

The Department of Labor & Industries announced that Washington State’s minimum wage will increase to $14.49 on January 1, 2022. The minimum wage increase also impacts the state’s overtime pay threshold for “white collar” positions held by executive, administrative, and professional employees. To be exempt from overtime pay in 2022, an employee must earn at least $1,014.30 a week/$52,743.60 annually, which is 1.75 times the 2022 minimum wage. Washington State’s minimum wage updates annually based on the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which resulted in a 5.83 percent increase for 2022. Washington State’s overtime pay threshold increases annually based on the multiplier schedule established by L&I in 2019 as part of its overtime pay rulemaking. Click here to read L&I’s full announcement. (David Streeter, DavidS@wsha.org).