New year brings changes for WA workers, employers
By Terry Murry on Thursday, December 30th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
TUMWATER – The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries reminds businesses and employees that changes in the minimum wage, overtime, and workers’ compensation premiums will take effect Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022.
Washington’s minimum wage will increase to $14.49 per hour, a nearly six percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed the increase to more expensive gas, housing, household furnishings, and food.
The state minimum wage applies to workers aged 16 and older. Under state law, employers may pay 85 percent of the minimum wage to workers ages 14-15. For 2022, the wage for that younger age group will be $12.32 per hour. Cities can set minimum wages higher than the state’s minimum wage. Both Seattle and SeaTac have done so.
The minimum salary an employee must earn to be considered overtime-exempt will also rise starting Saturday. This covers white-collar positions held by executive, administrative, and professional workers. It also includes computer professionals and outside salespeople.
Among the requirements to be exempt from the state Minimum Wage Act, salaried employees must meet the job duties test and earn at least a minimum salary of $1,014.30 a week ($52,743.60 a year). That rate is 1.75 times the minimum wage.
For Washington’s farm workers, because of a new law, they will be eligible to earn overtime. The law includes a three-year phase-in schedule. It incrementally reduces the number of hours worked by farm workers before they are entitled to overtime pay. As of Jan. 1, 2022: 55 hours in a work week; As of Jan. 1, 2023: 48 hours in a work week; and, as of Jan. 1, 2024: 40 hours in a work week. Dairy workers are already eligible to earn overtime after working 40 hours in a work week.
The average workers’ compensation premium rate for hours worked in 2022 will go up 3.1 percent effective Jan. 1. The rate increase addresses the rising costs due to cost-of-living adjustments for long-term cases, triggered by a rise in the state’s average wage. With this rate increase, the average rate per $100 of payroll in 2022 will be $1.53, a 1.4 percent increase over 2021. Individual employers may see their rates go up or down, depending on their recent claim history and changes in the frequency and cost of claims in their industry risk classes. Workers will continue to pay on average about a quarter of the premium, a similar percentage to that paid in 2021.
