Ask HN: Software Engineer Minimum Wage

10 points by poly_morphis 1 year ago | 10 comments

I'm a salaried software engineering employed in Washington state. I make a bit under $100k. Today I learned about minimum wage laws in WA state for computing professionals that would give me a raise of $15k - $20k / yr. Question is - how do I bring it up to my employer, and is it as straightforward as it sounds here?

WAC 296-128-535 states that:

"Beginning January 1, 2022, and each following year, an amount not less than 3.5 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 per hour regardless of the size of the employer" [0]

3.5 times the current minimum wage would be $16.28 * 3.5 * 160hrs * 12 or ~109k / yr, before the minimum wage increases here again in January.

- I design, document, write, test, debug, etc. low-level software in my job (I fit the description according to the written law).

- I am compensated on a salary basis.

I'm assuming, if this were correct, my employer would also owe me back pay if this is in fact a miscalculation, of all the months since I started (I started after January 1, 2022)?

[0] https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-128-535

andthenzen 1 year ago |

Where did you learn this from?

This interpretation is incorrect. The section you mention is a subsection of 296-128-500, which defines the minimum rates for certain professions to be exempt from overtime. In this case, computer professionals paid at least 3.5x the minimum wage and who are paid on an hourly basis are exempt. The level to qualify as exempt if an employee is paid on a salary basis is defined in 545.

poly_morphis 1 year ago | |

Thank you for the response, I was missing important context. I came across this scrolling through the WAC page. I found a few articles that clear it up as well:

"Effective January 1, 2025, exempt computer professionals paid at an hourly rate must be paid at least $58.31 per hour in order to be exempt." [0]

"...or $58.31 per hour and be exempt from overtime pay." [1]

[0] https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/washington-increases-...

[1] https://www.millernash.com/industry-news/washington-state-an...

emiri 1 year ago | | |

In 2025 computing professionals are supposed to be paid at least 116k in Washington state in order to be classified as an exempt employee. If they don't do this, they have to reclassify you as non-exempt or else you have a legal case and backpay is warranted. In Seattle this is likely to be higher since Seattle's minimum wage is higher.

Listen to actual lawyers which are causing awareness of this.

Jtsummers 1 year ago |

> 3.5 times the current minimum wage would be $16.28 * 3.5 * 160hrs * 12 or ~109k / yr, before the minimum wage increases here again in January.

That's low, you should estimate by total hours over the year, and not an assumption of just 4 weeks per month (you're losing 4 weeks of pay that way). The average work hours per year at 40 hours/week is 2087 (this is the number the federal government uses). Calculating your salary based on that you would get $118,917.26/year as the minimum salary.

markus_zhang 1 year ago |

I think you can negotiate the salary more efficiently if you have a second offer at hand and do want to stay in the same company.

vunderba 1 year ago |

I have never heard of minimum wage laws at the granularity of white collar occupations in the U.S. - I would double check your understanding of the documents.

poly_morphis 1 year ago | |

Yes, I was mistaken. Instead, it seems to be referring to a salary or hourly threshold specifically for overtime exemption.

gregjor 1 year ago |

I would discuss with HR. Their job to understand and comply with the laws.

mytailorisrich 1 year ago | |

First thing is to have a chat with a labour law attorney to clarify the situation and possibly hatch a plan. Only then should he go to HR according to plan.

ddgflorida 1 year ago |

Wishful thinking