To qualify as an exempt employee under this section, an employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis, exclusive of board, lodging, or other facilities, as follows:

(1) Beginning July 1, 2020, and through December 31, 2020, an amount not less than 1.25 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek regardless of the size of the employer;

(2) Beginning January 1, 2021, and through December 31, 2021:

(a) When the employee works for an employer with fifty or fewer employees, an amount not less than 1.5 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek; and

(b) When the employee works for an employer with more than fifty employees, an amount not less than 1.75 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek.

(3) Beginning January 1, 2022, and through December 31, 2022, an amount not less than 1.75 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek regardless of the size of the employer;

(4) Beginning January 1, 2023, and through December 31, 2023:

(a) When the employee works for an employer with fifty or fewer employees, an amount not less than 1.75 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek; and

(b) When the employee works for an employer with more than fifty employees, an amount not less than 2.0 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek.

(5) Beginning January 1, 2024, and through December 31, 2024, an amount not less than 2.0 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek regardless of the size of the employer;

(6) Beginning January 1, 2025, and through December 31, 2025:

(a) When the employee works for an employer with fifty or fewer employees, an amount not less than 2.0 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek; and

(b) When the employee works for an employer with more than fifty employees, an amount not less than 2.25 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek.

(7) Beginning January 1, 2026, and through December 31, 2026, an amount not less than 2.25 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek regardless of the size of the employer;

(8) Beginning January 1, 2027, and through December 31, 2027:

(a) When the employee works for an employer with fifty or fewer employees, an amount not less than 2.25 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek; and

(b) When the employee works for an employer with more than fifty employees, an amount not less than 2.5 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek.

(9) Beginning January 1, 2028, and each following year, an amount not less than 2.5 times the minimum wage prescribed in RCW 49.46.020 for a forty-hour workweek regardless of the size of the employer:

(10) For the purposes of this section, the size of the employer is based solely on the number of Washington-based employees it employs at the time of the effective date for each subsection. Each Washington-based employee counts as an employee for the purposes of determining the size of the employer regardless of whether that employee works full-time or part-time. An employer classified as employing fewer than fifty employees under RCW 50A.10.030 (8)(c) may rely on that classification for purposes of determining the size of the employer under this section for the following calendar year.