DC voters will soon decide whether to eliminate the tipped minimum wage. The ballot measure, dubbed Initiative 82, has the potential to transform the way restaurants operate, servers and bartenders are paid, and diners eat out. But we don’t blame you for finding it all confusing. So, here’s a primer:
First off, what is the tipped minimum wage?
The minimum wage in DC is $16.10 an hour. But servers, bartenders, and other tipped workers have a lower minimum wage—$5.35 an hour—and make up the difference in gratuities, aka the “tip credit.” Employers are required by law to cover workers if they don’t earn enough tips to reach the minimum wage.
What would Initiative 82 do?
It would ultimately eliminate the tipped minimum wage so that there’s one universal wage for everyone. This would happen gradually—by 2027.
Who’s for it and why?
A former DC restaurant server named Ryan O’Leary, who was laid off during the pandemic, proposed to get the initiative on the ballot. O’Leary has also worked as a paid organizer for One Fair Wage, a national advocacy group which has been at the forefront of local campaign efforts to eliminate the tipped wage. The DC Committee to Build A Better Restaurant Industry, the group formally heading support for Initiative 82, has raised the majority of its funds from George Soros-affiliated Open Source Network ($206,000) alongside small individual donations...
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