[US] D.C. voters approve eliminating tipped minimum wage

On November 8, voters in Washington D.C. approved a ballot measure that would gradually phase out a pay practice known as the tipped minimum wage, Yahoo News reports.

Without it, restaurants in the city would be forced to pay the same base wage as other employers.

The measure is known as Initiative 82, it would eliminate the “tip credit” that allows employers to pay tipped workers just $5.05 per hour, provided that gratuities get them up to the standard minimum wage of $15.20 per hour. The credit would reportedly disappear by 2027, at which point the same wage floor would apply to everyone.

The initiative’s passage marks a significant victory for the “One Fair Wage” labour campaign, which is working to get rid of the tipped wage floor through legislation and ballot measures. Seven states already have no tip credit and more are likely to follow suit.

Supporters of eliminating the tip credit say it makes workers’ pay more erratic and leaves a larger percentage in poverty because they are so dependent on diners’ tips. The restaurant industry, however, is opposed to changing the system, in the main, saying it will force restaurants to raise their prices or close their doors.

Federal law sets a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and allows employers to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13. While the majority of states and D.C. have their own laws requiring higher regular and tipped minimum wages, the $2.13 rate before gratuities remains standard in some states, including much of the South.

Under tip credit rules, if a worker isn’t receiving the full minimum wage after tips, the employer is supposed to top up their pay to make up the difference. However, critics of the system say that part of the law often goes unenforced and many workers are reluctant to push their employers for their legal right to more pay when their gratuities are short.

This is not the first time D.C. residents have tried to put an end to the tipped minimum wage. Voters reportedly approved a similar referendum in 2018 but the city council subsequently overturned it. On this occasion, the will of the voters appears likely to carry the change through. With councilmembers said to be showing less appetite for repeal.

Source: Yahoo News

(Links via original reporting)

On November 8, voters in Washington D.C. approved a ballot measure that would gradually phase out a pay practice known as the tipped minimum wage, Yahoo News reports.

Without it, restaurants in the city would be forced to pay the same base wage as other employers.

The measure is known as Initiative 82, it would eliminate the “tip credit” that allows employers to pay tipped workers just $5.05 per hour, provided that gratuities get them up to the standard minimum wage of $15.20 per hour. The credit would reportedly disappear by 2027, at which point the same wage floor would apply to everyone.

The initiative’s passage marks a significant victory for the “One Fair Wage” labour campaign, which is working to get rid of the tipped wage floor through legislation and ballot measures. Seven states already have no tip credit and more are likely to follow suit.

Supporters of eliminating the tip credit say it makes workers’ pay more erratic and leaves a larger percentage in poverty because they are so dependent on diners’ tips. The restaurant industry, however, is opposed to changing the system, in the main, saying it will force restaurants to raise their prices or close their doors.

Federal law sets a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and allows employers to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13. While the majority of states and D.C. have their own laws requiring higher regular and tipped minimum wages, the $2.13 rate before gratuities remains standard in some states, including much of the South.

Under tip credit rules, if a worker isn’t receiving the full minimum wage after tips, the employer is supposed to top up their pay to make up the difference. However, critics of the system say that part of the law often goes unenforced and many workers are reluctant to push their employers for their legal right to more pay when their gratuities are short.

This is not the first time D.C. residents have tried to put an end to the tipped minimum wage. Voters reportedly approved a similar referendum in 2018 but the city council subsequently overturned it. On this occasion, the will of the voters appears likely to carry the change through. With councilmembers said to be showing less appetite for repeal.

Source: Yahoo News

(Links via original reporting)