Three More Washington Cities Create Their Own Minimum Wage and Increase Worker Protections

Burien, Renton, and Bellingham join Tukwila, Seattle, and SeaTac in enacting their own minimum wage rates in excess of the state-mandated rate of $16.28. Each of the three cities has recently passed ordinances governing employment standards including minimum wage for non-exempt workers in addition to other protections.

Burien:

Effective January 1, 2025, Burien will implement three levels of minimum wage obligations.

• Level one – “all employers, including franchisees, that employ more than 500 FTEs in King County or franchisors who employ more than 500 FTEs in the aggregate.” Level one employers = $3.00 above the state minimum wage.
• Level two – “all employers, including franchisees, that employ 21-499 FTEs in King County.” Level two employers = $2.00 above minimum wage.
• Level three – “all employers with 20 or fewer FTEs” are exempt from the increased minimum wage obligation.

Minimum Wage - City of Burien (burienwa.gov)

Renton:

Effective July 1, 2023, employers in Renton with 15 or more employees or employers with an annual gross revenue exceeding $2 million, are subject to new local minimum wage requirements depending upon their size.   The new ordinance requires that the minimum wage increase each year based upon the rate of inflation.

• Large employers - 500+ employees worldwide, including franchise totals = $20.29.
• Medium employers - 15-499 employees regardless of their location or $2 million in gross revenue = $18.29. Mid-sized employers’ minimum wage increases will be phased-in until 2026 when the minimum wage for large and mid-sized employers will be equal.
• Small employers - fewer than 15 employees regardless of their location and less than $2 million in gross revenue are not covered by the increased minimum wage requirement.

Labor Standards Ordinance FAQs - City of Renton (rentonwa.gov)

Bellingham:

Effective May 1, 2024, all employers within the city of Bellingham, regardless of size, are required to pay their employees at least $17.28 per hour to meet their obligations under the new city ordinance. The minimum wage will increase again on May 1, 2025 to $2.00 above the state minimum wage. Beginning in January 2026, Bellingham’s minimum will be adjusted each year, as needed, to equal $2.00 above the state minimum wage.

City Minimum Wage - City of Bellingham (cob.org)

Other protections:

Renton’s new ordinance requires that employers offer existing qualified part-time employees additional hours before hiring new workers, including temporary workers. This provision mirrors requirements already enacted in Tukwila.

Renton and Bellingham also join Tukwila in prohibiting retaliation against employees. Employers will be presumed to have discriminated against any employees who experiences an adverse employment action within 90 days of the employee exercising their rights under the new ordinance. Employers will then have the burden of proving a non-discriminatory reason for the employment action.