Seattle Office of Labor Standards 2024 Year in Review
*Correction - the top third ordinance with financial remedies is Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time with $774,047
 Dear friends, community partners, and colleagues,
As we move forward into 2025, I would like to take a moment to recognize the incredible dedication and hard work of our staff and their resolve to uphold Seattle’s labor standards over the past year. Through meaningful community and business engagement and a deep commitment to social justice, we continue to adapt to evolving workforces, including the gig economy and non-traditional workplaces. Now more than ever, we must remain committed to enforcing Seattle’s labor laws, providing effective outreach and education, and developing innovative policies to ensure continued expansion of worker protections.
2024 End of Year Highlights
Enforcement
In 2024, the Enforcement Team successfully recovered financial remedies returned to workers through settlements with Seattle businesses with alleged violations of labor laws. The team:
- Assessed $44.7 million total financial remedies to workers in 2014-2024
- Recovered $6.9 million financial remedies to workers in 2024
- 12,960 workers impacted
- Seattle ordinances with top three financial remedies:
- Secure Scheduling - $3,894,193
- Wage Theft - $1,171,813
- Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time - $774,047
- Received 1,381 worker inquiries
- Filed 44 investigations
- Resolved 81 investigations
Outreach
OLS Engagement Specialists expanded outreach and engagement to both business and workers in 2024 with the support of the Business Outreach and Education Fund (BOEF) and Community Outreach and Education Fund (COEF) partners.
A new BOEF funding cycle was announced via a request for proposal for a 24-month contract period, beginning May 1, 2025, and ending April 30, 2027. Total funds available for 2025 are anticipated to be $550,000. The anticipated amount proposed will be $550,000 for 2026. Recipients to be announced early this year.
Business Outreach & Education Fund
BOEF partner activities include:
- 5,809 business partner outreach activities
- 2,299 workshop participants
- 180 trainings conducted
Community Outreach & Education Fund Education
Outreach and education facilitated by OLS staff and COEF partners include:
- 1,061 intakes
- 3,327 trained workers
- 432 trainings conducted
Door-to-Door Business Outreach
- 902 in-person partner outreach
- 849 in-person OLS outreach
Recent Policy Developments
2024 ushered in new worker protections for app-based/ gig worker rights beginning with the App-Based Minimum Payment Ordinance, effective on January 13, 2024. Key rights include:
- Providing covered app-based workers right to minimum payment, transparency, and flexibility
Beginning January 13, 2024, the App-Based Paid Sick & Safe Time Ordinance covered all app-based workers who work at a network company that hires more than 250 workers. Key rights include:
- Providing covered workers with paid sick and safe time
Last year, the OLS Policy Team established the groundwork for the App-Based Worker Deactivation Ordinance. This ordinance went into effect on January 1, 2025. Rulemaking will be finalized early this year. Key rights include:
- Providing covered app-based workers with rights and protection related to deactivation
On January 1st of this year, OLS marked its tenth anniversary as a separate division within the Office for Civil Rights and in two short years we will celebrate becoming an independent department on January 1, 2027. We’re also proud to mark the ten-year anniversary for both the Minimum Wage and Wage Theft Ordinances that became effective in our city on April 1, 2015.
I am excited for this opportunity to reflect on our progress in advancing Seattle labor laws with you. As we expand our teams, we remain dedicated to enforcing Seattle’s ordinances, educating the community, and supporting businesses in complying with evolving labor standards. Today, we enforce 19 ordinances designed to safeguard workers’ rights, and our efforts are yielding meaningful results.
I look forward to new opportunities to continue leading the way in protecting the basic freedoms for Seattle workers, while staying true to our mission of advancing labor standards through thoughtful community and business engagement, strategic enforcement, and innovative policy development, all with a commitment to race and social justice.
In Solidarity,
Steven Marchese
Director, Office of Labor Standards
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