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DC Can Overturn Measure to Raise Minimum Wages for Restaurant Workers

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D.C. lawmakers might cancel a ballot measure passed by voters in June, which was expected to increase minimum wages for restaurant workers.

On Monday, City Council members gathered for a whole day of hearing on Initiative 77, indicating that their readiness to vote on the repeal bill which they introduced in July.

Taking effect from October, under Initiative 77, businesses are required to pay the full $15 local minimum wage to restaurant servers in D.C., whose whole income is earned from tips.

At present, businesses in the capital pay workers who earn from tips a meager $3.89 per hour. The minimum wage in the city is $13.25, and it is expected to go up to $15 by 2020. The employers are required to pay more, if the restaurant workers are unable to earn enough from tips.

If Initiative 77 is implemented, the tipped minimum wage will be gradually hiked each year by $1.50 till it rises to $15 in 2025. By 2026, the minimum wage is expected to be uniform for all workers.

Despite the city’s vibrant and growing dining scene, the medium hourly wage for restaurant workers in the city is barely above the minimum wage, which includes tips. The tipped workers in D.C. are more likely to live in penury and use food stamps as the rest of the city’s workforce.

Labor groups are of the opinion that the law would be helpful for low-income families without adversely impacting the thriving restaurant scene in the city. They believe that the law would let all workers earn the full minimum wage.

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