Pay overtime
Workers receive objective compensation when a week runs beyond 40 hours.
Building a Washington state initiativePhase 1: building support
A proposed Washington state initiative
A salary is not a blank check for your time.
This campaign is building support to use Washington's initiative process to create a new state law guaranteeing overtime pay after 40 hours for all workers. Employers should pay for extra time or staff the work responsibly.
This is the organizing stage. Your pledge is not an official initiative petition signature.
Salary and hours
Calculate the difference.
Your salary is effectively worth
$57.69/hourat 50 hours per week - 20% less per hour than at 40 hoursIf the initiative became law
$56,250estimated additional gross pay / yearProposed overtime rate
$108.17for 10.0 extra hrs / weekSee the full estimate
- 40-hour value
- $72.12/hr
- Extra hours / year
- 520
- Overtime / week
- $1,082
- Estimated annual total
- $206,250
Illustrative estimate only. It assumes base salary covers the first 40 hours, overtime begins with hour 41 at 1.5×, and the same hours are worked for 52 weeks. It is not a calculation of wages currently owed or legal advice. Your calculator entries are not sent or saved.
Pay the hours.
Staff the work.
Protect livelihoods.
Same salary. More hours.
Your hourly value should not keep falling.
A salary can stay exactly the same while the effective value of every hour drops. Under the 40 Hours Is 40 Hours proposal, salary would cover the first 40 hours. Hour 41 would have a price.
40 hours / week$72.12per hour
50 hours / week$57.69per hour20% less per hour
60 hours / week$48.08per hour33% less per hour
Example based on a $150,000 annual salary and 52 workweeks.
The change is simple
The 41st hour should count.
01
Salary remains salary. It provides stable base compensation for the normal workweek.
02
The first 40 hours stay the normal workweek. The proposal does not eliminate salaried work.
03
Overtime begins with hour 41. Extra time becomes visible and compensated.
04
Bonuses and equity can still reward performance. They are separate from pay for time worked.
Two fair choices
Pay the hours. Or hire enough people.
Long hours are not banned. If the work needs to be done, the extra time should be paid or the team should be staffed to do it.
Hire more people
Existing teams get more sustainable weeks, and more Washington workers get jobs.
Unlimited unpaid hours
A salary should not let required hours quietly disappear after 40.
Washington benefits too
Paid work strengthens the programs workers rely on.
Washington does not have a broad wage income tax. The most direct public benefit comes through payroll-funded worker programs and a broader wage base when employers pay overtime or hire more people.
The current WA Cares premium applies to gross wages. When covered payroll grows, contributions supporting long-term care benefits can grow with it.
The 2026 Paid Leave premium applies to gross wages up to the Social Security cap. Additional covered wages can add program revenue.
If employers hire instead of relying on routine overtime, new jobs expand payroll, unemployment-insurance wage bases, and household spending in Washington communities.
Illustrative overtime-pay model$30M-$100M / year
Additional WA Cares and Paid Leave program revenue.
Illustrative hiring-heavy modelAbout $168M / year
Direct WA Cares, Paid Leave, and unemployment-insurance receipts.
These ranges come from the campaign packet's broad statewide scenarios. They depend on assumed worker counts, wages, and employer responses. The packet does not disclose the complete underlying model, so the figures have not been independently reproduced. They are organizing estimates, not an official fiscal note.
Questions, answered plainly
What this proposal does - and does not - mean.
Would this eliminate salaried jobs?
No. The proposal treats salary as compensation for the first 40 hours. Additional hours would be paid as overtime.
Is this what I am legally owed today?
No. Washington already protects covered nonexempt workers, while many executive, administrative, professional, and computer-professional roles may qualify for exemptions. The calculator illustrates this campaign's proposed model, not current back pay.
Can launches, incidents, and crunch periods still happen?
Yes. The proposal changes how extra time is compensated. It does not prevent employers from asking for overtime when work demands it.
What if employers hire instead of paying overtime?
That is still a worker benefit: existing employees may get shorter weeks while other workers gain jobs, salaries, and benefits.
Aren't bonuses and stock enough?
Bonuses and equity can reward performance or company success. The proposal treats compensation for hours worked as a separate, objective promise.
Does this pledge count as an official signature?
No. Washington initiative signatures must be made on official paper petition sheets by registered Washington voters. This list only tells the campaign that you want to sign if and when a petition becomes available.
Stand with Washington workers
I want to sign.
Pledge your support and we'll let you know if and when an official Washington petition is available.
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Know the baseline
Built for organizing. Grounded in the rules.
Washington already requires overtime for covered nonexempt employees. Salary and job title alone do not decide exemption status; salary-basis, salary-level, and duties tests can apply. Actual overtime is evaluated week by week. This site advocates a proposed change and is not legal advice.