A controversial proposal to change the pay structure for servers and other workers at Washington's bars and restaurants goes before voters Tuesday, four years after approval of an identical ballot issue that was later overturned by the D.C. Council.

Initiative 82 would eliminate the so-called tipped wages system in which restaurant owners pay certain staff members well below the $16.10 minimum hourly wage on the assumption that the difference would be made up through customer tips.

Currently, restaurant managers pay some staffers salaries as low as $5.35 per hour. If the employees' tips for the night don't raise that income up to the minimum, the employers make up the difference.

The proposal would gradually eliminate the two-tiered system, requiring employers to pay every staffer the $16.10 minimum by 2027.

The issue spawned fierce debates among the hospitality industry in 2018, and its revival has done the same this year, with campaign placards for and against it alongside those for mayoral or council candidates.

The council and Mayor Muriel Bowser drew heavy criticism for reversing the 2018 initiative, and several council members who voted to overturn the previous initiative have publicly stated they would not do so again if the new one succeeds.

While some states have set higher minimums, the federal "tipped minimum wage" has stagnated at $2.13 an hour since 1991 — while inflation has steadily eroded its purchasing power to less than half. Despite federal law...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNic25ld3MuY...