FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 29, 2017
Contact: Cynthia Santana
206-256-5219
cynthia.santana@seattle.gov
Required Increase to 2018 Seattle Minimum Wage for Large Employers
Seattle – (September 29, 2017) – The City of Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) announces the required increase to the 2018 Seattle minimum wage for large employers as defined by SMC 14.19, and increases to civil penalties and fines in other labor standards, to reflect the annual rate of inflation.
Under Seattle’s labor standards ordinances, the hourly minimum wage for large employers, and the amount of civil penalties and fines, must be increased annually on January 1 to reflect the rate of inflation. The measure for the rate of inflation is based on the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton Area Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, termed CPI-W, for the 12-month period ending in August.
The 2018 minimum wage for large employers who do not pay toward an employee’s medical benefit plan is $15.45/hour. The minimum wage for large employers who do pay toward medical benefits, which does not receive a CPI-W increase in 2018, is $15/hour.
OLS will update labor standards posters with the increased amounts by December 1, 2017. Employers are required to display the posters, in a noticeable area in the workplace, in English and the primary language(s) of the employees at the workplace. Notification of the poster’s completion date is available by subscribing to OLS’s mailing list. Detailed information on wage increases and penalties can be found on our website.
Seattle’s Minimum Wage Ordinance applies to employees working in Seattle, regardless of the employees’ immigration status.
For more information, visit https://www.seattle.gov/laborstandards or call 206-256-5297.
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