Special Events
Workers and Businesses, Are you Ready for the FIFA World Cup?
The FIFA World Cup is coming to Seattle from June 11 – July 19, 2026. The Office of Labor Standards is committed to helping businesses and workers prepare for what will surely be a busy time for everyone in the City.
If you are an employer with questions, please reach out to us for technical assistance! Our technical assistance staff do not share information with investigators. We also have specific resources for employers and hiring entities here.
If you are a worker with a question or complaint, go here!
Resources are available in languages including Spanish, Chinese, Somali, Arabic, Thai, and many others. These languages and others are available on our language page.
Following Seattle law is essential to make sure that hosting the World Cup will benefits all Seattle businesses, workers, and residents. Explore the different rights and responsibilities created by Seattle labor laws covering many different industries.
- Employers must post the Seattle Workplace Poster where employees can view it
- Employers must provide each employee with a Notice of Employment Information
- Seattle’s Minimum Wage in 2026 is $21.60 per hour
- Tips and medical benefits paid to employees do not count toward the minimum wage
- Most employees are entitled to meal and rest breaks
- Employees must be paid “all compensation owed” for all hours worked, including overtime and “off-the-clock" work
- Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST)
- Employees earn PSST at the following rates
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- PSST can be used for many reasons including sickness, going to the doctor, school or daycare closures, or time needed to respond to issues of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking
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Employers are not allowed to ask for proof of the reason needed for PSST until the employee is out for more than three working days in a row
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Policy checklist – does your policy include the right information?
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- Employers must follow the correct process and have a real reason before denying a job based on criminal history (Fair Chance Employment)
- Retaliation is illegal – that means that a business cannot take negative action against a worker for exercising or asking about their rights
- Click here to see the Notice of Rights for Hotel Workers and Workers at Ancillary Hotel Businesses
- An ancillary hotel business = a business that:
- Routinely contracts with a hotel to provide services to guests
- Leases space at the hotel to provide services to guests OR
- Has an entrance within the hotel and provides food and/or beverages to guests and the public
- An ancillary hotel business = a business that:
- Hotels with 60+ rooms must follow these requirements
- Hotels with 100+ rooms must also follow these requirements
- Protection from Injury (workload limits for room cleaning)
- Access to Medical Care (payment toward employee healthcare)
- Service charges must include specific language about how much of the service charge goes to employees
- Food Service and Retail establishments with 500+ employees worldwide must follow the Secure Scheduling Ordinance – this includes franchises!
- For full-service restaurants, the requirement only kicks in if the business has 40 or more full-service restaurant locations world-wide
- Basic Secure Scheduling rights include:
- Providing employee schedules 14 days in advance
- Extra pay for schedule changes made with less advance notice
- Employees can give input into their schedules
- Right to at least 10 hours of rest between opening and closing shifts or extra pay for hours worked with less than 10 hours of rest
- Learn more with these resources:
- Temporary or seasonal staff have the same rights as regular or full-time employees
- Temporary workers earn Paid Sick and Safe Time (but employers can say that new employees must wait 90 days to use PSST)
- Temporary workers who are returning to the same employer within 12 months get to start with the PSST balance they had when they left
- Temporary staffing agencies may be joint employers which means that staffing agencies can be found responsible for workplace violations at businesses that the agency helps staff
- Should a temporary worker be an independent contractor or an employee? Learn more here.
- Contractors who have no employees can be covered by Seattle’s Independent Contractor Protections Ordinance. To be covered, the work:
- Must be for a business (including non-profits) and
- Must be for more than $600.00 over the course of a year
- Businesses that hire Independent Contractors must give them this Notice of Rights, a notice describing the work and pay (see this sample Pre-Work Written Notice) and an itemized notice upon payment (see this sample Itemized Payment Notice)
- Contractors must be paid within 30 days of the completion of the work or by another agreed upon date
- Should a worker be an independent contractor or an employee? Learn more here.
- Many app-based workers:
- Should earn a minimum payment per offer based on time and mileage it takes to complete a job either starting or ending in Seattle
- Earn one day of Paid Sick and Safe Time for every 30 days with a pick up or drop off in Seattle.
- Most app-based workers are protected from deactivation
- Protections include the right to appeal deactivation and receive the information the company considered in its decision to deactivate
- Washington law (not Seattle law) covers rideshare drivers. If you have a question about rideshare issues, go here.