The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has released a new online tool to help employers estimate the budget impact of Washington’s new overtime exempt rules and assist them in comparing the impact of paying employees a salary versus
hourly wages.
As readers are likely aware, Washington’s overtime exempt rules have seen changes in the last
year, with the minimum thresholds for overtime exempt salaries being adjusted upwards. The changes will be phased in until the threshold is eventually set at 2.5 times the state minimum wage by 2028 ($78,624/year). L&I has released a new overtime exempt salary tool to help employers determine if a salary meets the new thresholds. The tool can also
estimate the budget impact of raising an exempt employee’s salary to the minimum threshold versus the impact of potential overtime costs if the worker is classified as nonexempt. L&I offers a number of other resources, like eLearning modules,
webinars, fact sheets and FAQs, for employers to understand the overtime rules on its overtime rules resources page.
AWC also offers a Washington State Public Employer Overtime Guide
to help our members navigate the changing overtime exempt rules. Members can log in at the above link to view the guide and watch our webinar summarizing the overtime exempt rule changes.