D.C. Council Rejects Rollback of Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers

Following is a statement from Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst with the National Employment Law Project:

“The National Employment Law Project thanks Washington, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and the six other members of the D.C. Council who voted yesterday to remove a repeal of Initiative 82 from the 2026 budget. Their vote protects a pro-worker policy that benefits the District’s 17,000 tipped workers—a largely female and racially diverse workforce that struggles with poverty at higher rates than other workers.

“In 2022, 74 percent of D.C. voters approved Initiative 82 to gradually phase out the District’s lower ‘subminimum’ wage for tipped workers. In doing so, the District joined seven ‘one fair wage’ states committed to fair wages for all workers, regardless of occupation.

“One-fair-wage states—Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State—already require employers to pay tipped workers the full minimum wage as their cash wage, with tips on top. Since then, Chicago has joined the movement and is now phasing out its subminimum wage for tipped workers. Restaurants and other tipped employers in those states have not been harmed by one-fair-wage policies. In fact, they are thriving.

“Several cities comparable to D.C. already require one fair wage. Los Angeles, for example, has a minimum wage of $17.87 for both tipped and non-tipped workers; in Minneapolis, it is $15.97; and in Chicago, it is $12.62.

“Even in places such as Denver, CO, Phoenix, AZ, and Jacksonville, FL—where the tipped wage does not equal the full minimum wage—tipped workers earn strong base wages in the range of $10.98 to $15.79 before tips.

“In the coming weeks, Initiative 82 is likely to continue to face threats from opponents who have been relentlessly calling for its repeal. We urge Councilmember Lewis George and all pro-worker champions in the Council to continue to oppose a repeal of the initiative.”

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