CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to employment in Seattle; revising and clarifying minimum wage and minimum compensation requirements for certain employees performing work in Seattle; and amending Sections 14.19.035 and 14.19.040 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, Seattle was the first major city in the United States to adopt a $15 minimum wage and is one of about 60 local jurisdictions that require a higher minimum wage than the state or federal standard; and
WHEREAS, Seattle's minimum wage requirements remain among the highest in the nation and increase every year on January 1 to reflect the rate of inflation for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area; and
WHEREAS, Seattle's Minimum Wage Ordinance, Chapter 14.19 of the Seattle Municipal Code, became effective on April 1, 2015, and gradually increased the minimum wage to $15 per hour over three to seven years depending on employer size; and
WHEREAS, large employers with more than 500 employees worldwide, including those in franchise networks, followed an accelerated timeline with annual adjustments to the minimum wage starting in 2018; and
WHEREAS small employers with 500 or fewer employees worldwide followed a slower timeline with annual adjustments to the "minimum compensation" standard starting in 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Minimum Wage Ordinance established "minimum compensation" as a temporary standard to ease the transition to paying higher wages for small employers; and
WHEREAS, for a ten-year period, small employers could pay a lower minimum wage by counting payments toward the employee's medical benefits and/or customer tips paid to the employee toward the minimum compensation requirement; and
WHEREAS, the minimum compensation standard will expire on January 1, 2025, and all employers regardless of size must pay the same minimum wage (as adjusted for inflation) solely through wages (i.e., hourly pay, piece-rate pay, non-discretio...
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