Seattle Hotel Workers Get Broad New Protections

The Seattle City Council unanimously passed four new labor standards for area hotels, requiring that workers receive panic buttons to summon help when faced with assaultive guests, as well as get health-care subsidies, potential triple overtime, and job-security protections.

The overtime measure mandates that workers cleaning rooms with more than a total of 4,500 square feet get at least triple overtime compensation for the amount of time cleaning rooms after exceeding the square-footage threshold. The measure applies to hotels with more than 99 rooms.

Another bill requires hotels with more than 59 rooms or ancillary hotel businesses with more than ...