Who we serve / Restaurants & hospitality
Benefits around the rhythm of service.
Kitchen, floor, housekeeping, and front-desk teams need clear choices and enrollment that fits their shifts. Start with pay, hours, locations, and a workable contribution budget.
Start with these three decisions.
Share your locations, shift patterns, payroll setup, and renewal or first-offering timeline.
Tipped and hourly pay
Use Washington wage rules and the correct ACA affordability method.
Changing schedules
Keep employer-size counting separate from individual eligibility.
Time to enroll
Plan meetings around service and give employees a private way to ask questions.
Washington tips do not replace minimum wages
Employers cannot credit tips toward Washington’s required hourly minimum wage. For an applicable large employer, W-2, rate-of-pay, and federal-poverty-line affordability safe harbors have different rules. Have payroll and the ACA vendor apply the chosen method; tips do not create a separate lower Washington minimum wage.
Use the monthly ACA calculation
Add each month’s full-time employees to the equivalents from non-full-time hours, capped at 120 per person and divided by 120. Average the prior year, considering related employers and any applicable seasonal-worker exception. Assess expected full-time status when hiring; fluctuating schedules do not make a look-back period appropriate for everyone.
A practical example · illustrative
Between lunch and dinner service
Use a brief group explanation, repeat it for the next shift, and offer individual or virtual follow-up. New hires receive support after the annual enrollment window too.
Coverage to compare
Availability, eligibility, and benefits depend on the proposed plan and its current terms.
- Medical options
- Compare employer contributions, employee costs, and networks for eligible staff.
- Dental and vision
- Look at the covered services and usable providers, not only the premium.
- Voluntary and income protection
- Explain optional coverage and exclusions without presenting supplemental benefits as a substitute for medical insurance.
From comparison to enrollment
We help connect the benefits decision with the people using and managing the plan.
- 01 / PLAN
Map the needs
Share your locations, shift patterns, payroll setup, and renewal or first-offering timeline.
- 02 / COMPARE
Review the tradeoffs
Compare actual plan costs, access, contributions, and the questions payroll or specialist advisers need to resolve.
- 03 / SUPPORT
Help the team enroll
We provide group, individual, and live virtual education, including shifts, multiple visits, new hires, and support after enrollment at no extra fee for client teams.
Before you get started
Does Employee Navigator process every change automatically?
Company administrators are trained to enter new hires and terminations, and WIB handles carrier changes. Integrations and carrier confirmation need an agreed process; do not assume every entry automatically updates coverage.
What administration is included?
Employee Navigator is available and customized at no extra cost for group clients who want it. WIB trains company administrators to enter new hires and terminations; WIB handles carrier changes. We coordinate third-party COBRA administrators that send and track notices. Vendor fees may apply, with waivers for some groups based on size and benefits package.
Sources checked September 19, 2026. General information; your plan and circumstances matter.
IRS · ALEIRS · fulltimeOIC · groupLNI · tipsIRS · employerLet’s start with your team.
Share your locations, shift patterns, payroll setup, and renewal or first-offering timeline. No existing plan is required.