State law requires the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to calculate several wage standards, including the minimum wage, each year. The department makes the calculations using the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers(CPI-W).

State minimum wage going up

Washington’s minimum wage will rise to $17.13 an hour on Jan.1, 2026. That’s 2.8 percent higher than the $16.66 an hour minimum wage in 2025.

Employers may pay 85 percent of the minimum wage, or $14.56 an hour, to 14- and 15-year-old workers.

Local governments are allowed to set minimum wages that are higher than those of the state minimum. Areas with higher minimum wages include Seattle, SeaTac, Tukwila, Renton, Bellingham, Everett, Burien, and unincorporated King County.

The L&I website includes information about the minimum wage along with details about overtime, rest breaks, meal periods, and how to file a wage complaint. The minimum wage information is available in 15 languages online.

New tower crane safety requirements

Starting Jan. 1, prime contractors must obtain a permit and follow manufacturers’ instructions for the operation, assembly, disassembly, or reconfiguration of a tower crane. L&I will consider a prime contractor’s history of safety and health violations as part of the application process for a permit.

Information about the new crane tower requirements is on L&I’s website.

Overtime-exempt workers

Certain types of employees are considered exempt from rules requiring they be paid overtime if they are paid on a salary basis, perform work consistent with Executive, Administrative or Professional duties, and are paid at, or above, a certain salary that L&I calculates.

For 2026, all employers must pay overtime-exempt workers at least 2.25 times the minimum wage. That means to be exempt an employee must be paid at least $1,541.70 a week ($80,168.40 a year). The rate for exempt computer professionals who are paid by the hour will be 3.5 times the minimum wage, or $59.96 an hour.

Pay for rideshare drivers

The minimum pay rideshare drivers will earn goes up on Jan. 1:

• For trips within Seattle, it’s rising to 70 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.63 per passenger platform mile, or $6.12, whichever is greater.
• For trips outside of Seattle, it goes up to 40 cents per passenger platform minute and $1.38 per passenger platform mile, or $3.55, whichever is greater.

Non-compete clauses

L&I is also responsible for calculating the minimum annual salary required for a non-compete clause or employee contract to be enforceable. In 2026, the threshold for employees will be $126,858.83. For independent contractors, the minimum will be $317,147.09. A non-compete clause or employee contract for a worker earning less than these amounts is not enforceable.

Wage complaints

L&I enforces the state’s wage-and-hour laws and investigates all wage-payment complaints. A worker rights complaint can be filed online, downloaded and mailed to the agency, or at a local L&I office.

For questions about worker rights and pay, employers and workers can call L&I’s Employment Standards Program at 360-902-5316 or toll free 1-866-219-7321.