Seattle's Dick's Drive-In to increase minimum wage to $19 per hour amid labor shortage

With the nationwide labor shortage making it harder for restaurants to hire and retain staff, one iconic Seattle fast food chain is upping its hourly wages to entice more workers.

Dick's Drive-In President Jasmine Donovan announced Wednesday that the fast food company will bump up starting wages to $19 per hour beginning on Sept. 27. Workers will automatically move up to $20 per hour once they pass their first skills test, which usually occurs within the first 12 weeks of employment. Raises and bonuses also come with more skills training, and the top hourly pay rate for crew now stands at $21.75.

With many locations understaffed, the company also announced that all employees who work more than 32 hours a week will be eligible to earn overtime for additional hours through the remainder of the year.

"Most of our employees are working in restaurants that are understaffed and need to work harder than ever to deliver the quality food and instant service our customers expect," Donovan wrote in a letter Wednesday.

To address the current short staffing, the company will be reducing hours at several locations until more workers can be hired and trained. The Lake City, Holman Road and Queen Anne locations will now close at 8 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. All other locations will maintain normal hours of service.

"Our jobs are challenging and physically demanding," Donovan wrote. "I know from personal experience how hard our employees work. But what they are doing is about so much more than making food. With every burger, fry and shake they serve, our employees bring joy to our customers and connect them with memories or help them make new ones."

While the announcement was widely praised, the company has found itself in hot water over the last few months due to alleged health and safety complaints. In March, five workers at the fast food chain filed complaints with the state, alleging health and labor violations. The complaints, which centered on two Seattle locations in the Uptown neighborhood and Capitol Hill on Broadway, included failure to isolate workers who might be sick, mask violations, inadequate social distancing measures, inconsistent hand washing requirements and mold contamination.

Donovan responded that the claims were "demonstrably without merit" in a Facebook post. However, last month, the company was fined $35,100 by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) for a total of 12 citations found during a routine inspection. Management said that they would be appealing three of the citations.

A new Dick's location is expected to open at the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue later this year. The new location fulfills a promise Dick's made to open a restaurant on the Eastside following the opening of the Kent location in 2018 and also marks a return to Bellevue — the old location closed in 1974.

The history of Dick’s dates back to Jan. 28, 1954, when Portland-born Dick Spady opened the first drive-in on N.E. 45th St. in Wallingford. Since its establishment, the beloved chain has opened a total of eight locations across the Puget Sound region.