The state's minimum wage will increase to at least $13.50 an hour in the beginning of the year for small employers.

SEATTLE — Editor's note: The above video was originally published in October 2018.

The turn of the decade will bring several new laws in Washington state, including a minimum wage increase that starts on Jan. 1, 2020.

The new minimum wage in 2020 will be as follows:

Large employers in the city of Seattle: $16.39 per hour.

$16.39 per hour. Small employers in the city of Seattle : $15.75 per hour or $13.50 per hour if they pay at least $2.25 per hour toward the employee’s medical benefits or the employee earns at least $2.25 per hour in tips.

: $15.75 per hour or $13.50 per hour if they pay at least $2.25 per hour toward the employee’s medical benefits or the employee earns at least $2.25 per hour in tips. Washington voters passed Initiative 1433 in 2016, setting increases to the state’s minimum wage every year from 2017 to 2020, when it will reach $13.50 an hour.

In 2019, large employers in Seattle with 501 or more employees paid a minimum wage of $16 per hour and small employers in Seattle with 500 or fewer employees paid a minimum wage of $15 per hour.

If those small employers paid at least $3 per hour towards the employee’s medical benefits and/or the employee earned at least $3 per hour in tips, the minimum wage was $12 per hour. Large employers followed this two-tiered system in the past but stopped in 2019.

The city of SeaTac will raise its minimum wage to $16.34 per hour in 2020. It was previously at $15.64.

The city of Tacoma will require employers to use the state's higher minimum wage of $13.50 per hour in 2020. It was previously at $12.35 per hour in 2019.

In Washington, there are a few types of employees that employers can pay less than minimum wage.

According to Labor and Industries, these exceptions include:

Workers with Disabilities However, beginning in July 2020, state agencies cannot pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage

Learners This includes people learning while on the job, but the employer must prove that certain conditions are met and that there are no experienced workers available

Student Learners Includes students working in part-time vocational training programs or job training programs that correspond with the worker’s education

Student Workers Includes students working part-time at a “qualified educational institutional” to help pay for school costs. This worker cannot have been hired in place of an experienced worker

Apprentices Includes those working in jobs/vocations that require an apprenticeship

