This wage and hour Law Firm Publication by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP discusses two wage-related ordinances that took effect in Seattle, Washington on April 1, 2015. The Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance increases the minimum wage for all employees who perform at least two hours of work in Seattle in a two-week period. The ordinance creates two sets of minimum wage scales based on whether the employer has more or less than 500 employees. Both sets of employers must pay covered employees at least $11 an hour for the remainder of 2015, and the minimum wage will again increase to as high as $13 an hour beginning on January 1, 2016. The Seattle Wage Theft Ordinance creates a new administrative process for employees to bring wage theft charges and provides for remedies, including unpaid wages and civil penalties. The latter ordinance also imposes notice requirements on Seattle employers that are more extensive than those imposed by Washington state law, as well as creates employee-favorable rebuttable presumptions that make it easier for employees to establish violations.