Two different bills introduced by D.C. lawmakers this week aim to ease restaurants’ transition to paying tipped workers a higher minimum wage after voters approved Initiative 82 in November — and as the industry still tries to recover from pandemic losses.
D.C.’s restaurant industry has been asking for relief amid monumental changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, Initiative 82, which will increase restaurants’ labor costs. Initiative 82 began to take effect this week: The tipped wage increased 65 cents to $6 per hour May 1, and will go to $8 per hour on July 1.
Employers will have to increase the base pay of their tipped workers a dollar or two every year until 2027, when tipped workers’ base will be equal to the city’s prevailing minimum wage. (That wage, currently $16.10, increases in proportion to inflation.) Under the tipped wage system, restaurants are supposed to ensure that their workers make at least minimum wage between their base pay and tips.
The biggest change in the bills from Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) deals with service charges, automatic fees tacked on as a percentage of a customer’s total check. While the charges are becoming increasingly popular among restaurant owners looking to offset rising operating costs, they have been be controversial among both workers and customers.
Both councilmembers’ bills stipulate that restaurants would not need to pay sales tax on the revenue derived...
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