Higher Tipped Wage for Washington Workers Could Get Axed

Washington, D.C., lawmakers introduced legislation that would nullify a voter-backed minimum wage initiative involving the tip credit.

Voters said yes June 19 to a measure that would require businesses to pay tipped workers the city’s minimum hourly wage regardless of gratuities earned. The city’s minimum wage law currently lets businesses pay a lower minimum wage to employees who earn gratuities—if the tips are sufficient to carry the workers to the standard minimum.

Critics of that measure said businesses would have difficulty absorbing higher labor costs, forcing them to restructure operations by cutting staff or raising prices. The measure’s backers said increasing the wages a business must pay would reduce workers’ reliance on potential customer biases in how they tip.

If the city council undoes the initiative, it would echo a move the Maine legislature made in 2017. Lawmakers there rolled back a ballot question voters approved in 2016 following an outcry from hospitality workers who feared it would lead to a decline in earnings.

D.C. City Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) told opponents of the Washington measure at City Hall July 9 that they aren’t alone. “A majority of my colleagues, including the mayor as well, have said they do not support Initiative 77,” he said.

Seven D.C. lawmakers introduced the bill July 10, giving it majority support among the 13 council members.

Voters Have Spoken?

Diana Ramirez, a spokesperson for One Fair Wage DC, a backer of the initiative, called on lawmakers to respect the voters’ will. “It would be deeply undemocratic for Council to overturn the will of the people,” she said July 9.

“We will fight any efforts to prevent DC workers from reaping these benefits and likewise stand prepared to work collaboratively with Council and stakeholders to ensure a smooth and gradual implementation of One Fair Wage in DC,” Ramirez said in a prepared statement posted to Facebook.

The initiative passed with 55 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed. Elections board data show that 18.66 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. The measure can’t take effect before a congressional review is completed, which could last several months, depending on the legislative calendar.

“It’s a very low turnout election,” Evans said the day after the vote. “I think it’s a misnomer to say it’s the will of the people. It’s the will of the people who voted in this election.”