Washington overtime and break rules

When does Washington require overtime? After 40 hours in a workweek at 1.5x the regular rate, and since January 1, 2024 that includes agricultural workers (RCW 49.46.130).

Farm workers: RCW 49.46.130(6)(c)

Federal law exempts most agricultural work from overtime. Washington phased it in: over 55 hours from 2022, over 48 from 2023, and "Beginning January 1, 2024, any agricultural employee shall not be employed for more than 40 hours in any one workweek unless the agricultural employee receives one and one-half times that agricultural employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40" (RCW 49.46.130(6)(c)).

Overtime: RCW 49.46.130(1)

"no employer shall employ any of his or her employees for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his or her employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he or she is employed."

Exempt salary: WAC 296-128-545

Executive, administrative and professional staff must be paid a salary of at least a multiple of the state minimum wage for a 40-hour week:

Period	Multiple	Weekly floor
2026, any employer size	2.25x	$17.13 × 2.25 × 40 = $1,541.70
2027, 50 or fewer employees	2.25x	$17.73 × 2.25 × 40 = $1,595.70
2027, more than 50 employees	2.5x	$17.73 × 2.5 × 40 = $1,773.00
2028 onward	2.5x	set each year

Minimum wages are from the Department of Labor and Industries ($17.13 for 2026, $17.73 announced for 2027). Weekly figures are our arithmetic. Duties tests also apply.

Meal and rest breaks: WAC 296-126-092

• Meal: "at least thirty minutes which commences no less than two hours nor more than five hours from the beginning of the shift." No one may work "more than five consecutive hours without a meal period." The meal period is paid when the worker must stay on duty on the premises.
• Extra meal: "Employees working three or more hours longer than a normal work day shall be allowed at least one thirty-minute meal period prior to or during the overtime period."
• Rest: "a rest period of not less than ten minutes, on the employer's time, for each four hours of working time," and no one may work "more than three hours without a rest period."

Use the overtime calculator, federal setting, for the weekly count.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. RCW and WAC text read on October 27, 2026 from the Legislature's pages through Internet Archive copies dated October 15, 2026, because app.leg.wa.gov refused our connection.