2021 Employment Law Issues

are Naturally, the biggest issues in employment law as we enter the new year will surround COVID-19, particularly vaccines and employer requirements.  While COVID-19 has been at the forefront of discussions throughout 2020, there are other exciting developments in employment law on the horizon.

In positive news for employees, changes are coming to both overtime rules and the minimum wage.  Employees will receive a boost to their pockets through increases in minimum wage requirements.  In Washington, the minimum wage state-wide will increase to $13.69 per hour.  This results in a nearly 20-cent increase for most Washingtonians over the previous minimum wage of $13.50 per hour and will apply to all workers age sixteen and older.  Bear in mind that employees who work in December of 2020 but paid in January of 2021 will see that boost in their paycheck.  The increase will make Washington one of the highest minimum wages in the country.  Only two areas, Washington D.C. and California have a higher minimum wage.  Respectively, those are $15.00 and $14.00 per hour.  In Seattle, where the cost of living is notoriously high, the minimum wage will become $16.69 per hour, up from the current rate of $15.75 per hour.  These changes are made following an analysis by the Department of Labor considering an appropriate cost of living adjustment to the minimum wage.

In more good news for employees, certain exempt employees will see a positive change in their earnings.  The new requirement addresses overtime as applied to exempt salaried executives, administrative, professional workers, and computer professionals.  These employees, regardless of title, must be paid more than a set amount to be exempt from overtime payment requirements.  Those amounts are determined by the size of the employer.  If the employer has more than fifty employees, the employee’s salary must be at least 1.75 times the current minimum wage.  This amounts to $958.30 per week.  For employers with less than fifty employees, the business must pay a salary of at least 1.5 times the current minimum wage of $821.40 a week.  These changes ensure employers may not use exempt status as a means of depriving employees of a living wage.  

The Washington requirements are more favorable than those set by the Federal Government, meaning Washington employers will have to adhere to the Washington requirements rather than the Federal requirement of $684 per week.  The Federal minimum wage remains abysmally low at $7.25 per hour with no regard for the cost of living.  It remains to be seen whether this will shift with the incoming administration and rumors of a $15.00 Federal minimum wage, a change that would certainly be appreciated as so many wage workers have fallen desperately behind due to the nationwide fall-out from COVID-19.