Seattle’s new minimum wage legislation passed by the Seattle City Council and signed into law by Mayor Murray on June 3, 2014 provides for an increase in the minimum wage in the City of Seattle to $15/hr., phased in over time, beginning April 1, 2015. The minimum wage ordinance has a different schedule for increasing the employees’ pay based upon the employers’ number of employees in the U.S. and whether the employer pays toward its employees’ medical benefits plan.
Schedule 1 employers (more than 500 employees in the U.S.)
Schedule 1 employers are required to pay each employee an hourly minimum wage of at least:
$11.00/hr. by April 1, 2015
$13.00/hr. by January 1, 2016 $15.00/hr. by January 1, 2017
Effective January 1, 2018, the hourly minimum wage paid by a Schedule 1 employer will be increased annually on a percentage basis to reflect the rate of inflation and calculated to the nearest cent on January 1 of each year thereafter.
Schedule 1 employers (more than 500 employees in the U.S.) with medical benefits
Schedule 1 employers that pay toward an individual employee’s medical benefits plan are required pay an hourly minimum wage of at least:
$11.00/hr. by April 1, 2015 $12.50/hr. by January 1, 2016
$13.50/hr. by January 1, 2017 $15.00hr. by January 1, 2018
Schedule 2 employers (500 or fewer employees in the U.S.)
Schedule 2 employers are required to pay each employee an hourly minimum wage of at least:
$10.00/hr. by April 1, 2015 $10.50/hr. by January 1, 2016 $11.00/hr. by January 1, 2017
$11.50/hr. by January 1, 2018
$12.00/hr. by January 1, 2019
$13.50/hr. by January 1, 2020
$15.00/hr. by January 1, 2021
$15.75/hr. by January 1, 2022
$16.50/hr. by January 1, 2023
$17.25/hr. by January 1, 2024
Effective January 1, 2025, the hourly minimum wage paid by a Schedule 1 employer will be equal the hourly minimum wage applicable to Schedule 1 employers.
Schedule 2 employers (500 or fewer employees in the U.S.) with minimum compensation
Schedule 2 employers are required to pay an hourly minimum compensation that is the lower of (a) the applicable hourly minimum wage for Schedule 1 employers or (b) the hourly minimum compensation schedule:
$11.00/hr. by April 1, 2015
$12.00/hr. by January 1, 2016
$13.00/hr. by January 1, 2017
$14.00/hr. by January 1, 2018
$15.00/hr. by January 1, 2019
$15.75/hr. by January 1, 2020
Schedule 2 employers can meet the applicable hourly minimum compensation requirement through wages (including applicable commissions, piece-rate, and bonuses), tips, and money paid by an employer towards an individual employee’s medical benefits plan provided that the Schedule 2 employer also meets the applicable hourly minimum wage requirements.
Additional Resources: Office of the City Clerk, Council Bill No. 118098/Ordinance No. 124490