This bill amends existing state wage law (amending RCW 49.46.020, 49.46.120, and 49.46.820) to set the Washington state minimum wage for employees age 18 and over at $16.66 per hour on the section’s effective date, and to link future state minimum wage increases to increases in the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. §206). Beginning December 30, 2025, and each December 30 thereafter, the Department of Labor and Industries must increase the state minimum wage by the same percentage as any increase in the federal minimum wage that occurred in the preceding year; no state increase is required when the federal rate does not increase. The bill limits local wage ordinances by prohibiting local jurisdictions that, as of the effective date, have a minimum wage above $16.66 from increasing their local minimum wage above the rate that exists for that jurisdiction on the effective date; if the state minimum later exceeds a local rate, the state rate applies. It requires employers to pay employees all tips and gratuities and all service charges defined in RCW 49.46.160 (except those itemized as not payable to servicing employees), and specifies that tips and service charges are in addition to and may not count toward the hourly minimum wage. The director (not further specified in the extracted facts) is directed to set the minimum wage for employees under 18 by regulation. The act may be cited as the "job loss prevention act" and the text retains a provision referencing paid sick leave requirements beginning January 1, 2018 under RCW 49.46.180, 49.46.200, and 49.46.210. This is a statutory amendment changing how the state minimum wage is set and how local ordinances interact with the state rate (a procedural and substantive wage-setting change), not a criminal or penalty provision. Extracted facts do not state the exact calendar date that constitutes the "effective date of this section," they do not identify which "director" is referenced, and other enforcement and interaction details with local ordinances may depend on statutory text not included here.

If enacted, the state minimum wage for workers 18 and older would be set at $16.66 per hour on the law’s effective date and then automatically go up each December 30 starting in 2025 by whatever percentage the federal minimum wage increased that year. Employers would be required to pay employees all tips and service charges (except those specifically itemized as not payable to servicing employees) in addition to the hourly minimum, and local governments that already had higher local minimums on the law’s effective date would be barred from raising those local rates above their existing level (but the state rate would take precedence if it becomes higher). The groups most affected are employers, who may see immediate higher payroll costs if they currently pay less than $16.66 and who will need to update pay when federal increases occur, and employees 18 and older, who are likely to see higher wages; employees under 18 are affected but their rate is left to a director’s regulation (the statute here doesn’t say which director or what that rate will be). The Department of Labor and Industries must calculate and implement the annual adjustments, creating an ongoing administrative duty. Important specifics are missing from the excerpts provided: the exact effective date of the section and the identity of the director who will set the under‑18 wage, and some details about how enforcement and interaction with local ordinances will work.