Labor Standards – Minimum Wage Ordinance

Introduction to Tukwila Labor Standards Law

Tukwila Labor Standards – Minimum Wage & Fair Access to Additional Work Hours Ordinance is the result of a citizen-led effort that voters approved in 2022 and became law July 1, 2023. As an employer, ensure that your appropriate department (HR, Compliance or Payroll) is notified.

ALL Tukwila employers are affected by Tukwila Labor Standards and must determine their legal responsibilities per Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) 5.63 – Labor Standards for Certain Employees.

Employers covered by Tukwila Labor Standards are Large Employers and Mid-Size Employers, per Ordinance requirements.

The City’s Finance Department was made responsible for administering the Ordinance which includes monitoring employer compliance and processing employee complaints.

Questions? Contact us at MinimumWage@TukwilaWa.gov or 206-552-6873.

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WHO SETS THE MINIMUM WAGE FOR MY BUSINESS?

Use King County’s Minimum Wage Lookup Tool to confirm Tukwila is the correct jurisdiction to set minimum wage and other labor standard requirements for your business.  It’s also helpful for finding the minimum wage for any place in King County.

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WHAT IS THE MINIMUM WAGE?

The 2025 minimum wage is $21.10 for all covered employers. Rate effective until December 31, 2025.

NOTE: Employers covered by the Ordinance were originally categorized as Large or Mid-Size. The distinction allowed for a scheduled phase-in period of minimum wage incremental rate increases for Mid-Size Employers. On July 1, 2025, the Mid-Size Employer minimum wage increased by $1 and became equal to the Large Employer rate of $21.10. As of July 1, 2025, and going forward, Tukwila only has one minimum wage.

NEW!  The 2026 minimum wage will be $21.65.

• Effective January 1, 2026.
• Employer-required flyers/posters, updated for 2026, will be available by November.

Notifying your employees is required by law.

• 2026 Notice to Employees & Workplace Poster
• 2025 Notice to Employees & Workplace Poster
• Administrative Rule to Tukwila Labor Standards (which contains FAQs and examples)

Annual minimum wage updates are calculated per Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) 5.63.  For more information about the calculations, please reference the Tukwila Labor Standards and TMC 5.63 documents on this page. Questions may be directed to MinimumWage@TukwilaWa.gov.

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Complaint Form (for employees) Compliance Certification (for employers)   WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EMPLOYERS & EMPLOYEES All employers in Tukwila are required to determine if they are an affected employer for this Ordinance.

For More Information Regarding this Law: Email questions to MinimumWage@TukwilaWa.Gov.

This Ordinance and Tukwila Labor Standards include five main requirements for affected employers:

1. Minimum Wage: If applicable, pay Tukwila’s minimum wage to certain employees. This requirement started on July 1, 2023.
2. Additional Hours: If applicable, provide fair access to qualified, part-time employees to additional hours of work before hiring additional employees, subcontractors, and temporary agencies.
3. Notification: Provide notification to employees by distributing the Notice of Tukwila Labor Standards to specified employees on or before they begin working in Tukwila and at least 30 days before any change to the minimum wage, and by displaying the Tukwila Labor Standards poster in the workplace.
4. Records: Retain specified records to confirm compliance with the Ordinance and allow the City to inspect the records.
5. Certification: Certify compliance with the Ordinance by January 31st for the previous calendar year.

Employees working in Tukwila are encouraged to use this page to learn about their rights, to access the required Notices and Posters, and to access the Complaint Form if they believe their rights have been violated.

WHICH EMPLOYERS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS ORDINANCE?

NEW! On July 1, 2025, a Minimum Wage Ordinance milestone was reached. The City no longer needs to classify covered employers as Large vs. Mid-Size. The minimum wage incremental rate increases for Mid-Size Employers ended as planned on July 1^st when their minimum wage increased by $1 and became equal to the Large Employer rate.

As of July 1, 2025, Tukwila has a single minimum wage making the process for employers to determine if they are covered by the Ordinance much simpler. An employer is covered if just ONE of the following conditions is true.

Employers covered by Ordinance have:	15 or more employees in aggregate worldwide (not just in Tukwila; includes total employee counts worldwide for network of franchises, chain stores, and similar businesses under a single entity) OR over $2 million annual gross revenue (generated in Tukwila)
Ordinance does not apply if: (all three must be true)	Fewer than 15 employees worldwide AND $2 million or less in gross revenue AND are not associated with a franchisor or network of franchisees that employ more than 500 employees in aggregate. These employers may still be subject to State minimum wage and other laws.

The Administrative Rule to Tukwila Labor Standards (which contains FAQs and examples) document will be updated to reflect program changes due to achieving the July 1, 2025, milestone. Changes to the document will be available for public feedback, on this web page later in the year, before final adoption.  For questions, please contact MinimumWage@TukwilaWa.gov.

FAIR ACCESS TO ADDITIONAL HOURS OF WORK

Affected employers must offer additional hours of work to qualified, part-time employees, per TMC 5.63, before hiring new employees or subcontractors (including temporary agencies).

Please review Administrative Rule to Tukwila Labor Standards (which contains FAQs and examples) which contains frequently asked questions for additional information, plus the definition of “qualified part-time employee,” applicability to seasonal workers, the process for distributing additional hours of work, exceptions to the requirement to offer additional hours of work to existing employees, and types of positions are that considered exempt from the definition of “employee.”

You can also review Washington State RCW 49.46.010 (Subpart 3C) for additional information on which employees are not included in the definition of “employee.”

 

ENFORCEMENT & PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE

Persons alleging a violation of TMC 5.63, including retaliatory conduct, may bring a civil action against the employer or other person violating the ordinance. The statute of limitations for civil actions is 5 years.

Additionally, complaints can be presented in writing to the City Attorney, who has the discretion to initiate an investigation and, if they deem appropriate, to initiate legal or other action to remedy any violation of the ordinance.  For details, see Administrative Rule to Tukwila Labor Standards (which contains FAQs and examples) (TLS 05-020) and TMC 5.63 (5.63.090, Subpart E).

The City of Tukwila’s Finance Director may deny, suspend, or revoke any license for violations of TMC 5.63. Additional penalties may apply.

 

SUBMITTING A COMPLAINT

Anyone may submit a written complaint to the City if a labor standards violation is thought to have occurred. Alleged violations may include financial injury related to minimum wage and/or fair access to additional hours of work requirements, as well as adverse actions and/or prohibited retaliation by an employer or other person.

Use this Complaint Form to notify the City of alleged violations. Step-by-step instructions are included to complete and submit the form.  Please enter contact information for yourself and the employer, details and timeframes of the alleged harm, and any supporting documentation. Representatives of employees may also submit a completed form.

 

Deadlines Calendar

Use this schedule to comply with Tukwila labor standards requirements, per TMC 5.63. The City is not required to remind employers, so please calendar these deadlines. View current, printable documents in the Employer-Required Forms section.

January 1	Updated minimum wage rate for the calendar year goes into effect.
January 31	Annual, required Compliance Certification due from employers covered by the Ordinance.
October 15	Minimum wage rate for next calendar year, adjusted based on inflation, is published on this web page. (An updated Notice to Employees flyer, for the next calendar year, will be available before December 2.)
December 2	Notify your employees of next calendar year minimum wage rate using updated Notice to Employees flyer. (You must provide flyer to each employee as electronic or physical copy AND display it as poster in the workplace.)

Note: The citizen-led group who authored Initiative Measure No. 1 – which was passed by voters in 2022 and became Tukwila’s Labor Standards Ordinance effective in May 2023 – included a provision to ease the financial burden of a higher minimum wage rate on Mid-Size Employers by scheduling minimum wage increases over a two-year period. This phase-in period for Mid-Size Employers ended on July 1, 2025, with Tukwila having a single minimum wage going forward.