WA's soaring salary threshold forces employers confront overtime pay

While serving on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Snohomish County, Mark Harmsworth saw just how complicated Washington state’s salary exemption threshold could be.

Harmsworth, director of the Small Business Center at the right-leaning Washington Policy Center, says the club’s recently retired executive director, Bill Tsoukalas, struggled to navigate the law, which determines whether workers are paid an hourly wage or an annual salary.

“The Boys & Girls Club had to reduce staffing,” says Harmsworth, a former state legislator. “Costs went up. It hit us really hard.”

The threshold skyrocketed 15.67% starting Jan. 1, meaning employees must earn at least $80,168.40 per year to be exempt from earning overtime. Workers below that threshold are eligible for overtime pay.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2026/01/11/washington-salary-exemption-threshold-overtime-pay.html