July 13, 2016
by KIM SZARMACH
Mayor Muriel Bowser signed legislation on June 27 that had been unanimously approved by D.C. Council to raise D.C.’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020. The minimum wage was increased to $11.50 on July 1 in accordance with a 2013 D.C. amendment, but the wage will rise faster from year to year because of the new Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016.
The legislation also increases base-pay for tipped workers, though many advocates have argued in favor of one minimum wage for all. “We believe that D.C. should follow the model of more and more jurisdictions around the country,” testified DC Fiscal Policy Institute Senior Analyst Ilana Boivie at a May hearing about the bill, “to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers altogether, to address the severe income stability and other challenges these workers face.” District employers are responsible for making up the difference if their employees’ tips do not add up to at least minimum wage.