Labor & Industries has proposed sweeping changes to overtime pay eligibility rules that would affect retailers statewide. Washington Retail urges members and as many other retailers as possible to testify at scheduled public hearings this summer regarding how these rules could discourage management training opportunities in addition to increasing store costs.

Put simply, L&I wants to greatly expand the number of workers who would qualify to be paid for overtime work. Higher salary thresholds would be established beneath which workers would be eligible for overtime pay as opposed to salaried management employees.

These higher costs would be phased in beginning next summer over a six-year period ending in 2026. The new thresholds would increase to two and one-half times the state’s minimum wage and top out at $79,800 in 2026.

The higher wage thresholds would mean anyone making less than that amount would qualify for overtime pay. For larger retailers, the final new threshold would be an increase of more than 60% compared to the current threshold.

Click here for locations and times of public hearings in July and August under the Executive, Administrative and Professional (EAP) exemptions heading. L&I also plans a 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. July 23 webinar with information on this proposal. To listen in, dial toll-free: 855-929-3239. The passcode is 800-099-295#. Select # a second time (no password required) to connect to the meeting.

For more information, please contact Bruce Beckett, contract lobbyist for Washington Retail on labor law matters, at 360-480-5258 or [email protected].