Voters in the District of Columbia, Nebraska, and Nevada overwhelmingly approved minimum wage-related ballot initiatives during this year’s midterm elections. The political movement to establish a $15.00 minimum wage started in 2012 when 200 New York City fast food workers walked off the job demanding better pay and union rights. Despite inaction by the federal government in the subsequent decade, there continues to be bipartisan support for minimum wage increases, particularly at the state level, as illustrated by the success of these three ballot measures.
District of Columbia to Phase Out Tipped Minimum Wage by 2027
DC voters passed Initiative 82 (the “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act”) which will gradually raise the tipped minimum wage from $5.35 per hour to match the non-tipped minimum wage of $16.10. The first phase will take effect on January 1, 2023, raising the minimum hourly wage for tipped workers to $6.00. The tipped minimum wage will jump again to $8.00 on July 1, 2023 and increase by $2.00 each year until July 1, 2027. D.C. joins seven states that have abolished the tipped minimum wage.
In 2018, voters approved a virtually identical ballot initiative to eliminate the tipped minimum wage, but the D.C. Council voted to repeal the measure before it took effect. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has reported that the council will not attempt to override the vote on Initiative 82.
Importantly, Initiative 82 does not appear to impact employers’...
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