The Department of Labor and Industries announced a nation-leading overhaul Wednesday that restores overtime protections for thousands of workers. Washington now has the most progressive rules in the nation, and the update makes sure workers get fairly compensated for overtime work.
The new rules will affect an estimated 250,000 Washington workers once they are fully phased in. The governor believed this change was long overdue and directed L&I to update the overtime rules months ago.
“This is an incredible day for Washington,” Gov. Jay Inslee said. “All people should share in our state’s prosperity. Yet, due to these outdated rules, many have worked long hours without compensation. This is valuable time they could otherwise spend with their families and in their communities.”
Washington hasn’t updated its overtime rules since the 1970s. At that time, more than 60 percent of salaried workers received time-and-a-half pay when they worked more than 40 hours a week.
Today that number has dropped to just 7 percent.
Read the rest of the story on the governor's Medium page.