Burien asks court to untangle conflicting minimum wage laws

Which Burien minimum wage law should be be followed? It’s a question the City of Burien is asking a King County Superior Court to clarify, arguing in a legal complaint that there are now conflicting minimum wage laws on the books.

Initiative 1, passed this year, failed to repeal or acknowledge Burien’s existing minimum wage law, creating confusion for employers and workers alike. The initiative requires large employers to match the hourly minimum wage with the city of Tukwila, and offers a phased-in approach for smaller employers, adjusted annually for inflation.

“This initiative creates a legal contradiction, and the City is seeking court clarification to ensure employers and employees have a clear standard,” the city stated in the complaint.

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Minimum wage laws in conflict

The legal filing claims Burien businesses may now be subject to two conflicting wage structures.

Burien’s new minimum wage law took effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Initiative 1 did not repeal the law, creating conflict. It was not clear in the initiative that Burien voters cast ballots for which law would be followed, according to the legal filing.

The city said the new initiative ties Burien’s minimum wage to Tukwila’s wage law linked to SeaTac’s municipal code. The problem is SeaTac’s code only applies to hospitality and transportation workers, according to Burien.

Burien leaders are asking for a “declaratory judgment” to determine which law takes precedent.

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Which law is applicable?

The city of Burien argues it’s not clear whether the initiative has any impact on the current laws on the books because the current city minimum wage is actually higher than that of Tukwila. And the complaint also argues Initiative 1 was confusing and may have misled voters.

“Defendants’ initiative… borrows a minimum wage from Tukwila, which in turn borrows from SeaTac. And SeaTac’s regulation only applies to ‘hospitality and transportation workers.’ The regulations, moreover, classify employers differently, call for different enforcement, and calculate wages differently. So employers are subject to two inconsistent laws, which expressly do not supersede one another, other than the initiative’s minimum wage states that the ‘greater wages or compensation’ will apply,” the complaint argues.

As of January 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Burien is $21.16 an hour for employers with more than 500 workers. For smaller companies, it is $20.16 an hour.

Initiative 1 would tie Burien’s minimum wage to that of Tukwila, which is currently $21.10.