Overtime in 2026

Washington’s Minimum Wage Act requires employers to pay employees a minimum rate of $17.13, or higher in certain areas. When an employee works over forty (40) hours in one week, the employer is required to pay the employee one and one-half (1.5) times their regular rate of pay. However, there are narrow exemptions to overtime eligibility. Most commonly, this applies to individuals employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity. In order for individuals employed in these types of roles to qualify as overtime exempt, they must also reach a minimum salary threshold.

For 2026, the minimum salary threshold for workers in executive, administrative, or professional roles is two and one-quarter (2.25) times the minimum wage, which is equal to $80,168.40 per year. This threshold is even higher for employees classified as computer professionals. In order for computer professionals, such as software developers, to qualify as overtime exempt, they must be earning at least three and one-half (3.5) times the minimum wage, or $124,716.80 annually. Therefore, employees in specialized roles that may traditionally be considered as overtime exempt may be entitled to overtime pay if they are earning less than the minimum salary required by the state of Washington.