Washington’s minimum wage – already the highest state-level minimum wage in the nation – will increase 38 cents next year
Brett Davis
The Center Square Washington
With a new year just around the corner, a host of new statewide laws that will soon impact Washingtonians’ wallets one way or the other will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Here are some of them.
Minimum wage
Employers will have to pay more, and workers will get a raise. Washington’s minimum wage – already the highest state-level minimum wage in the nation – will increase 38 cents next year.
According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, the Evergreen State’s minimum wage will rise to $16.66 an hour next year, a 2.35% increase over the current minimum wage of $16.28.
The increase in the minimum wage applies to workers age 16 and up. Employers may pay 85% of that wage, or $14.16 an hour, to workers ages 14-15.
Paid sick leave
Senate Bill 5793 means workers, including transportation company drivers, will have access to paid sick leave and will be protected from discrimination or retaliation when exercising their rights.
Some highlights of Washington’s paid sick leave law: employers must provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, employees can use paid sick leave after 90 days of employment and employees can carry up to 40 hours of paid sick leave from one year to the next.
HEALTH CARE WORKERS MANDATORY OVERTIME PROHIBITION
Washington will prohibit mandatory overtime for certain healthcare workers in hospitals next year via Senate Bill 5236, which was passed in 2023.
The law applies to hourly workers and those covered by a collective bargaining agreement, including nurses, surgical technicians and other clinical staff. There are some exceptions to the overtime prohibition, including emergency situations, pre-scheduled on-call times, staffing shortages despite reasonable efforts, and overtime that is necessary to complete a patient care procedure. Hospitals must document their efforts to avoid overtime.
Smaller hospitals and critical access facilities have until July 1 to comply with the new law.
Harsher penalties for negligent driving
Courtesy of House Bill 1112, passed in 2023, negligent drivers who seriously hurt or kill pedestrians or cyclists will see harsher penalties in the new year.
Under the new law, a negligent driver who kills someone will face a $5,000 fine, up to 364 days in jail, and the suspension of driving privileges for 90 days.
A negligent driver who seriously hurts someone will face a $5,000 fine, suspension of driving privileges for 90 days, traffic school and up to 100 hours of community service.
License plate covers ban
When House Bill 1963 goes into effect at the beginning of 2025, it will be illegal to use license plate covers, frames, holders, or other materials that hide or alter the license plate.
Violators can be cited and fined up to $237. The law’s goal is to improve public safety and accountability by making it easier for police, toll collectors, and safety cameras to read license plates.
This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.
Also read:
- Councilor Leslie Lewallen releases statement opposing countywide fireworks ban ahead of Clark County Council vote
Camas City Councilor Leslie Lewallen has released a statement opposing a proposed countywide fireworks ban, urging Clark County leaders to protect personal freedoms ahead of Wednesday’s vote. - Opinion: ‘Vancouver doesn’t have to end up like Portland or LA’Clark County Matters urges Vancouver’s mayor and City Council to act now to restrict public homeless camps, warning that inaction could mirror outcomes seen in Portland and Los Angeles.
- VPS celebrates opening of Endeavour Technical Trades Center
Vancouver Public Schools marked the grand opening of the Endeavour Technical Trades Center at Hudson’s Bay High School, a privately funded project supporting career training in construction and technical trades. - Washingtonians will need state permit to buy guns under new law
A new Washington state law will require gun buyers to obtain a permit from the State Patrol starting in 2027, adding fees and training requirements beyond existing background checks. - Washington history firsts that happened in WashougalWashougal was home to several Washington state firsts, including the earliest school district and first non-Indigenous settler north of the Columbia River.
- Opinion: ‘Governor Ferguson agrees parents have no rights’Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood criticized Governor Ferguson for signing HB 1296, calling it a direct attack on parental rights in Washington.
- Opinion: What is liberty worth?Nancy Churchill explores how the lure of federal funding erodes local control, using real examples from Washington and rural America.
How about busting negligent pedestrians who attempt to jaywalk across I-5/I-205/SR-14, or major city streets like Mill Plain, Fourth Plain, 164th and many others??
How about if homeless concrete campers are not allowed to drive unsafe vehicles of every description on City streets or State highways, overloaded with trash, with either no license plates at all, or possibly stolen plates that expired years ago??
So-called “canning” is a misdemeanor. Each and every time your local scrounger hits the blue bins in your whole neighborhood, each bin is a repeat offense. How many hundred misdemeanors does one trash-picker get before they are held accountable and forced to stop?? If “canning” is such a noble endeavor, why is it being done at 2 AM??
At one time you could be ticketed for tossing so much as a cigarette butt out of your car window. These days we pay City and State crews big bucks to clean up and dispose of the same contaminated “homeless” campsites, over, and over again. How much money has been spent in the last ten years on just cleaning up after the same people??
So many questions…..
Increasing the minimum wage actually hurts lower income people. As a result of increased minimum wages, business owners just raise the sale price of their goods and services. This makes everything here in WA more expensive for everyone. Due to the increased minimum wage, many business eliminate entry level jobs. It is best if the free enterprise marketplace determine costs, not Government. Government never seems to learn from their mistakes. But then again, you don’t get the Government you deserve, you get the Government you elect……..