Seattle minimum wage: $21.30/hr. Unified across all employer sizes.
Seattle's minimum wage is $21.30/hr effective January 1, 2026, applying to all employers regardless of size. The previous distinction between large employers (501+) and small employers (with the medical-benefits-or-tips offset) was eliminated effective January 1, 2025 — Seattle now has a single rate for the entire city. The rate adjusts annually based on Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area CPI-W. Seattle has no tip credit (matching state law). Coverage applies to any worker who performs more than 2 hours of work in Seattle in a 2-week period.
Seattle Minimum Wage Floor
Enforces $21.30/hr for any worker performing 2+ hours of work in Seattle in a 2-week period. Auto-routes hours by location. Annual January 1 batch uplift.
What those rules do for Seattle workers.
The hero card configuration: Block on below-floor, Flag on cross-jurisdiction work, Critical on uplift batch.
When a worker scheduled in Seattle is paid below $21.30/hr for those hours, save fails. The shift card identifies the rate, the worker, and the controlling Seattle ordinance.
When a worker has shifts in both Seattle and another jurisdiction (e.g., Seattle + Bellevue), Teambridge applies the Seattle rate to Seattle hours and the state floor to non-Seattle hours. The 2-hours-in-2-weeks coverage threshold is monitored automatically.
In late December, all Seattle workers below the next year's floor surface for batch uplift effective January 1. Action runs in one click for the Seattle bucket.
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Seattle Municipal Code 14.19 — fully unified in 2025.
Seattle's minimum wage ordinance phased in starting 2015. The large/small employer distinction (which historically allowed small employers to pay less if they covered medical benefits or tips reached a threshold) was eliminated effective January 1, 2025. From 2025 onward, Seattle has one rate for all employers.
Unified rate from 2025
Seattle's minimum wage was originally tiered: large employers (501+ employees worldwide) paid the higher rate, while small employers could pay a lower rate if they contributed to medical benefits or if employee tips brought total compensation up to the higher rate. That distinction ended January 1, 2025. From 2025 onward, all Seattle employers pay the same minimum wage regardless of size.
2-hours-in-2-weeks coverage
Seattle's minimum wage applies to any worker who performs at least 2 hours of work in Seattle in any 2-week period. This is broader than 'works primarily in Seattle' — even occasional Seattle work triggers Seattle minimum wage for those hours. The Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) enforces.
Teambridge handles per-shift Seattle routing automatically.
Seattle's 2-hours-in-2-weeks coverage threshold is operationally specific. Multi-jurisdiction operators with even occasional Seattle work need precise location routing — Teambridge does this at the shift level.
Seattle shifts auto-route to $21.30.
When a manager creates a shift at a Seattle work location (or a worker checks into Seattle work), Teambridge applies $21.30/hr as the floor. Below that triggers a save failure.
2-hours-in-2-weeks rule monitored.
For workers who occasionally work in Seattle (e.g., a Bellevue-based delivery driver who makes Seattle deliveries), Teambridge monitors the 2-hour-in-2-weeks threshold and applies Seattle rate to those hours when triggered.
January 1 batch.
In late December, all Seattle workers below the new floor surface for one-click batch uplift. Effective from the first shift of January 1.
Per-shift logs available.
Every Seattle shift logs the controlling rate, the location at time of save, and the worker's home jurisdiction. If OLS audits, the rate-applied evidence chain is intact per worker, per pay period.
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