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← Labor rules, by state and province

Washington restaurant labor laws

Washington: overtime after 40h a week, $17.13 minimum wage, 30-min meal break after 5h, night limits for minors. Every figure sourced.

The figures ShiftNivo schedules against in Washington, read from the source linked at the bottom of this page.

Start with Washington's rules loaded →No credit card. Free during early access.

Overtime

Daily
No separate rule*
Weekly
after 40h · 1.5×
Double time
No separate rule*
Rest between shifts
No separate rule*
Eating period
30 min after 5h
Minimum wage
$17.13since 2026-07-01
Default time zone
America/Los_Angeles

* “No separate rule” means the engine does not enforce one here. That is not the same as saying the jurisdiction has none.

City and county minimum wages · 8

Some cities and counties in this state set their own minimum wage or tipped wage above the state's, and a restaurant they cover pays the higher one. When you set a location's labor rules, ShiftNivo offers these right after the state. Figures as they stood on October 16, 2026, from each place's own page or its state's; each place changes them on its own dates, most often January 1 or July 1.

  • Bellingham

    Minimum wage
    $19.13since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $19.73 from January 1, 2027

    One rate for every employer size, set by the city at $2.00 above the state's.

    City Minimum Wage - City of Bellingham

  • Burien

    Minimum wage
    $21.78since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $22.49 from January 1, 2027

    By employer size

    More than 500 employees
    $21.78 · Next change $22.49 from January 1, 2027
    16 to 500 employees
    $20.78 · Next change $22.49 from January 1, 2027
    15 or fewer employees
    $19.28 · Next change $20.49 from January 1, 2027

    The voter-passed law (BMC 5.16) covers every employer size, and a franchisee counts its whole network. A court challenge to it was still open in May 2026. Employers of 16 or more must offer part-time staff more hours before hiring.

    Minimum Wage - City of Burien

  • Everett

    Minimum wage
    $20.77since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $21.52 from January 1, 2027

    By employer size

    More than 500 employees
    $20.77 · Next change $21.52 from January 1, 2027
    15 to 499 employees, or over $2M in revenue
    $19.77 since July 1, 2026 · Next change $20.52 from January 1, 2027

    Employers with 15 or more employees anywhere, or over $2M in gross revenue; smaller ones pay the state's rate. The smaller tier reaches the large rate on 1 July 2027. Part-time staff must be offered more hours before anyone new is hired.

    Minimum Wage - City of Everett

  • King County (unincorporated areas)

    Minimum wage
    $20.82since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $21.57 from January 1, 2027

    By employer size

    500 or more employees
    $20.82 · Next change $21.57 from January 1, 2027
    16 to 499 employees, or fewer with over $2M in revenue
    $19.82 · Next change $21.57 from January 1, 2027
    15 or fewer employees, under $2M in revenue
    $18.32 · Next change $19.57 from January 1, 2027

    Only unincorporated King County, not the cities in it.

    Minimum wage in unincorporated King County - King County

  • Renton

    Minimum wage
    $21.57since July 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $22.28 from January 1, 2027

    Employers with 15 or more employees worldwide, or over $2M in gross revenue in Renton; smaller ones pay the state's rate. Part-time staff must be offered more hours before anyone new is hired.

    Labor Standards - City of Renton

  • SeaTac

    Minimum wage
    $20.74since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $21.47 from January 1, 2027

    Only hospitality and transportation employers: a restaurant run with a hotel of 100 or more rooms and 30 or more workers, or food service with 10 or more non-managerial staff at the airport, a corporate cafeteria or a conference center. A freestanding restaurant pays the state's rate.

    Employment Standards Ordinance - City of SeaTac

  • Seattle

    Minimum wage
    $21.30since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $22.14 from January 1, 2027

    One rate for every employer size since 2025. Tips and medical benefits never count towards it.

    Minimum Wage - Seattle Office of Labor Standards

  • Tukwila

    Minimum wage
    $21.65since January 1, 2026
    Tipped cash wage
    No tip credit
    Next change
    $22.45 from January 1, 2027

    Employers with 15 or more employees worldwide, or over $2M in gross revenue in Tukwila, or franchisees of a network of more than 500; smaller ones pay the state's rate. Part-time staff must be offered more hours before anyone new is hired.

    Minimum Wage and Fair Access to Additional Hours of Work - City of Tukwila

Public holidays · 11

A public holiday carries no statutory premium for a private employer under federal law, so these are shown as observed days. Eleven federal holidays are assigned to every state, with a few recognized state holidays added; a state's own full list is not complete here.

  • Christmas DayDecember 25
  • Columbus Daysecond Monday in October
  • Independence DayJuly 4
  • JuneteenthJune 19
  • Labor Dayfirst Monday in September
  • Memorial Daylast Monday in May
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Daythird Monday in January
  • New Year's DayJanuary 1
  • Presidents' Daythird Monday in February
  • Thanksgivingfourth Thursday in November
  • Veterans DayNovember 11

Youth hours

The bands the product checks for Washington. United States figures come from the Department of Labor — its state table as published on 15 July 2025, or its federal rules — and are corrected from the state's own source where the table is wrong. Permits, supervision and exemptions sit underneath every band, and each one says what is not checked. Confirm with the state before relying on them.

  • Under 14

    Not permitted

    Federal floor. 14 is the minimum age for most non-agricultural work.

  • Ages 14 to 15

    School day
    3h
    Non-school day
    8h
    School week
    16h
    Week
    40h
    Days a week
    6

    Not between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

    June 1 to Labor Day: not after 9 p.m.

    Eight hours on Saturday and Sunday. An adult must supervise a minor working after 8 p.m. in a restaurant or shop. The evening limit moves to 9 p.m. outside the school year. No more than 6 days in a week, checked here in the workspace's week. Figures as published by the US Department of Labor on 15 July 2025. Confirm them with your state labor department.

  • Ages 16 to 17

    School day
    4h
    Non-school day
    8h
    School week
    20h
    Week
    48h
    Days a week
    6

    Not between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., on school nights

    Sunday through Thursday; midnight on Friday and Saturday and when school is out. An adult must supervise after 8 p.m. The evening limit binds only on a night before a school day. No more than 6 days in a week, checked here in the workspace's week. Figures as published by the US Department of Labor on 15 July 2025. Confirm them with your state labor department.

Source: dol.gov/agencies/whd/youthrules · dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor

Minors →

What ShiftNivo checks for you here

  • Overtime after 40 hours in a week, priced as you build, with a warning four hours before anyone crosses it.
  • A shift longer than 5 hours without its 30-minute eating period.
  • Workers under 18: the minimum age, the hours in a day and in a week, and the evening limit, read from a birth date and marked as errors, not warnings.
  • A minor's days of work in a week at ages 14 to 17, against the limit of 6, with every location's shifts counted together.
  • 11 public holidays, each flagged the week before it arrives.
  • Everywhere: double bookings, approved time off, and shifts outside the hours someone said they can work.
Start with Washington's rules loaded →

Next door

The rules one border over, for a second location or a team that crosses it.

The federal standard: Federal (FLSA) →All 66 jurisdictions →

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