The backlash was swift against D.C. Mexican restaurant Mi Vida after owners instituted a 3.5% "Initiative 82 fee" this month, with some diners and online vocalists swearing off the swanky spot.

Why it matters: Initiative 82 fees are popping up on restaurant checks around the city, heightening tensions between patrons — some confused or angered by yet another service charge — and business owners hit hard by the new law.

Catch up quick: Last year, D.C. voters overwhelmingly passed I-82, which changes the way tipped workers get paid, phasing out a system used in most places around the country, including Virginia and Maryland.

• Before it was enacted, servers and bartenders in D.C. made a minimum of $5.35 an hour before tips, and employers made up the difference if they fell short of the city's minimum wage (currently $17 an hour).

How it works: I-82 raises the minimum wage for tipped workers, gradually increasing what employers are required to pay to be in line with D.C.'s minimum wage for non-tipped workers by 2027.

Yes, but: The D.C. Council passed emergency legislation earlier this year postponing I-82 increases from going into effect until May so businesses could prepare.

• The first increase was to $6, and then $8 this month — a nearly 50% jump that jolted some to implement the new fees.

What they're saying: "We think that the public should see the impact of their decision," says Mi Vida's Jason Berry, whose company Knead Hospitality + Design just rolled out I-82 fees...

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