


The Council of the District of Columbia opted to strip Initiative 82 of some of its provisions Monday after the measure struggled to be fully implemented years after voters approved it.
Lawmakers believed the initiative would be a compromise between workers and the restaurant industry, but people from both sides had misgivings about it. Restaurants complained that the measure raised their costs, while workers said it reduced tipped incomes as establishments put forward service fees.
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The original ballot measure aimed to raise the tipped minimum wage to match the non-tipped employee minimum wage by 2027 with a phased implementation.
However, the council decided Monday to preserve the tipped minimum wage and increase base wage hikes over the next decade in a 7-5 vote. Councilmembers Charles Allen, Christina Henderson, Brooke Pinto, Phil Mendelson, Kenyan McDuffie, Wendell Felder, and Anita Bonds voted in favor. Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George, Robert White, Matt Frumin, and Zachary Parker voted in dissent.
The new wage timeline will see the tipped wage rise to $10 an hour from now through July 2026, and then it will rise every two years until it reaches 75% of the minimum wage in 2034.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser previously backed a full repeal of Initiative 82, but the council voted the measure down. She said in May that “restaurants are facing a perfect storm with increased operational and supply costs, higher rent, and unique labor challenges.”
I-82 supporters revolted against the council’s partial repeal of the ballot measures, protesting the council meeting while shaking and banging against the chamber’s doors. The council ended the meeting in a lockdown of the council chambers.
Partially repealing I-82 could be considered going against voters’ will, though some councilmembers wanted to avoid that.
“The voters told us what they wanted. And this is not it,” said Nadeau, who voted against the amendment. “This council should stop telling voters they don’t know what’s best.”
The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington celebrated the amendment as a “win for the industry,” one that “brings immediate relief to operators,” in a statement sent to Axios. One Fair Wage, which backed I-82, slammed the vote, calling it a “betrayal of democracy and a gift to the restaurant lobby.”
DC RESTAURANT OWNER SLAMS INITIATIVE 82 AND ‘EXHAUSTING’ ICE RAIDS
The amendment also aims to provide more wage transparency, forcing employers to list any source of income, including bonuses, tips, and service fees, on pay stubs. It will also command the D.C. chief financial officer to create a report on restaurant industry trends, worker wages, and tax changes every two years.
The amendment will go to Bowser for her signature and then to Congress for final approval.