Employment & Worker Protection · Washington
Washington Minimum Wage
RCW 49.46.020 - enacted in Washington.
- Status
- Enacted
- Enacted
- 1985
- States with employment & worker protection laws
- 51
- Washington tracker score
- 62/100 Top quartile
The bottom line
Washington Minimum Wage is an enacted law in Washington, part of a mature, broadly-adopted employment & worker protection landscape.
- Enacted
- effective 2025-01-01
- 51
- states have employment & worker protection laws
- 107/107
- employment & worker protection laws enacted nationally
- 62/100
- Washington tracker score
Data compiled 2026-03-18 from the official Washington legislative record linked below; laws can be amended or repealed after this date.
Category catalog share · regulations
How 107 tracked employment & worker protection records split by state
Exclusive Washington vs other-state counts in this category (sum to the category total). Orthogonal to the peer scatter below, which plots enacted volume against portal tracker score.
Regulatory Snapshot: Washington Minimum Wage
Washington Minimum Wage (RCW 49.46.020) is an enacted law in Washington under the Employment & Worker Protection category. It was enacted on 1985-01-01 and becomes effective on 2025-01-01. Washington currently has 7 regulations tracked here, with 7 records marked enacted in this dataset. PlainRegWatch's tracker score is 62/100; it summarizes coverage within the five categories this site tracks and is not an official state rating. PlainRegWatch compiled this entry's data on 2026-03-18; consult the linked official source for the current, authoritative text.
Nationally, 107 employment & worker protection statutes have been enacted and 0 additional bills remain pending - 51 distinct jurisdictions have codified rules in this area so far. That places Washington within a mature and broadly adopted employment & worker protection landscape where compliance programs typically hinge on definitions in RCW 49.46.020 itself.
Applicability under Washington Minimum Wage: All Washington employers. Penalty exposure is documented as: L&I enforcement. Private right of action. 3-year back pay. Notable exemptions: Minors under 18: $14.17/hr. Student learners (reduced)..
Summary
Washington minimum wage $16.66/hr (2025) — highest statewide rate in US. No tipped credit. Annual CPI indexing.
Key Requirements
- $16.66/hr (2025).
- No tip credit — all workers receive full minimum.
- Annual September CPI announcement, January effect.
Penalties
- L&I enforcement.
- Private right of action.
- 3-year back pay.
Applicability
- All Washington employers.
Exemptions
- Minors under 18: $14.17/hr.
- Student learners (reduced).
Official Source
https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/minimum-wage/Category context
How Washington sits among employment & worker protection peers
51 states have a tracked record in employment & worker protection ; Washington ranks #9 by portal tracker score among those peers. Each point is one state with at least one employment & worker protection regulation in this archive.
Read the peer-state figures
- California: 6 enacted of 6 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 100/100.
- Colorado: 5 enacted of 5 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 76/100.
- Texas: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 69/100.
- Connecticut: 4 enacted of 4 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 62/100.
- Illinois: 5 enacted of 5 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 62/100.
- Minnesota: 3 enacted of 3 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 62/100.
- New York: 5 enacted of 5 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 62/100.
- Oregon: 6 enacted of 6 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 62/100.
- Washington (this state): 5 enacted of 5 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 62/100.
- Delaware: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 59/100.
- Virginia: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 59/100.
- Utah: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 55/100.
- Florida: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 48/100.
- Maryland: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 48/100.
- Massachusetts: 5 enacted of 5 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 48/100.
- New Jersey: 3 enacted of 3 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 48/100.
- Rhode Island: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 48/100.
- Vermont: 3 enacted of 3 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 48/100.
- Alabama: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- District of Columbia: 3 enacted of 3 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- Hawaii: 3 enacted of 3 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- Maine: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- Nevada: 4 enacted of 4 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- North Dakota: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- Oklahoma: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- Pennsylvania: 2 enacted of 2 tracked employment & worker protection records, tracker score 34/100.
- Indiana: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- Iowa: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- Kentucky: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- Montana: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- Nebraska: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- New Hampshire: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- Tennessee: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 31/100.
- Arizona: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 28/100.
- Louisiana: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 28/100.
- West Virginia: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 28/100.
- Alaska: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Arkansas: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Georgia: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Idaho: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Kansas: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Michigan: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Mississippi: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Missouri: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- New Mexico: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- North Carolina: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Ohio: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- South Carolina: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- South Dakota: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Wisconsin: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
- Wyoming: 1 enacted of 1 tracked employment & worker protection record, tracker score 17/100.
Dashed lines mark the peer averages in this category. The tracker score summarizes enacted records across all five policy areas PlainRegWatch tracks; it is not enforcement strength or legal burden. Read how tracker scores are computed.
Tracker-score ranking on employment & worker protection
Top peer states by portal tracker score among jurisdictions with a employment & worker protection record in this archive.
| # | State | Tracker score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 100 |
| 2 | Colorado | 76 |
| 3 | Texas | 69 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 62 |
| 5 | Illinois | 62 |
| 6 | Minnesota | 62 |
| 7 | New York | 62 |
| 8 | Oregon | 62 |
| 9 | Washington (this state) | 62 |
| 10 | Delaware | 59 |
Read with Washington Minimum Wage
Nearest employment & worker protection volume peers and same-state archive siblings for this ENACTED · MID row.
ENACTED MID
Illinois · 5 enacted
Illinois holds 5 enacted employment & worker protection rows (more by 0 than Washington); tracker 62/100.
New York · 5 enacted
New York holds 5 enacted employment & worker protection rows (more by 0 than Washington); tracker 62/100.
Colorado · 5 enacted
Colorado holds 5 enacted employment & worker protection rows (more by 0 than Washington); tracker 76/100.
Massachusetts · 5 enacted
Massachusetts holds 5 enacted employment & worker protection rows (more by 0 than Washington); tracker 48/100.
Seattle Secure Scheduling Ordinance · ENACTED
Another Washington archive row (Employment & Worker Protection) stamped ENACTED beside ENACTED Washington Minimum Wage.
Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act · ENACTED
Another Washington archive row (Employment & Worker Protection) stamped ENACTED beside ENACTED Washington Minimum Wage.
Disclaimer: This summary is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Regulation details may have changed since this data was compiled (2026-03-18). Always consult official sources and qualified legal counsel for compliance guidance.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Verify with the official Washington source →
Every figure on PlainRegWatch is rendered from curated state legislative and Federal Register source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Status, dates, and source URL are this record's row in the curated archive, not a live legislature scrape. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. Tracker scores and rule counts are curated records in five tracked categories - not enforcement strength, legal advice, a complete inventory of US law, or a live bill-status feed.