WSR 20-20-076
DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR AND INDUSTRIES
[Filed October 2, 2020, 11:01 a.m.]
The department of labor and industries recently updated the rule for overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, professional (EAP) workers, including outside sales and computer professionals. To be exempt from overtime, EAP workers must be salaried, paid a minimum specified salary level, and must primarily perform executive, administrative, professional, outside sales or computer professional duties as defined under chapter 296-128 WAC. The updated rules went into effect July 1, 2020.
According to WAC 296-128-545, the salary thresholds for the EAP overtime exemption are calculated using a multiplier of the minimum wage for a forty-hour work week and incrementally adjust through 2028. In 2028, the salary threshold will be 2.5 minimum wage for all employers.
Using the 2021 Washington minimum wage of $13.69, the 2021 salary thresholds for EAP overtime exemption are as follows:
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| • | For small employers with fifty or fewer employees, the applicable EAP salary threshold in 2021 is $821.40 per week ($42,712.80 annually), which is 1.50 times the minimum wage. |
| • | For large employers with fifty-one or more employees, the applicable EAP salary threshold in 2021 is $958.30 per week ($49,831.60 annually), which is 1.75 times the minimum wage. |
| • | For computer professionals at a small employer with fifty or fewer employees, the applicable wage rate for an exempt computer professional is $37.65 per hour, which is 2.75 times the minimum wage. |
| • | For computer professionals at a large employer with fifty-one or more employees, the applicable wage rate for an exempt computer professional is $47.92 per hour, which is 3.5 times the minimum wage. |
If you have any questions, please contact Tracy West, rules coordinator, at 360-902-6954.