WASHINGTON — The DC Council has passed a bill that would close loopholes in the minimum wage law. Bill 25-134, also known as the "Minimum Wage Clarification Amendment Act of 2023," requires employers to pay District minimum wage rates when an employee performs at least two hours of work in the District in one workweek.
Ward 4 DC Councilmember Janeese George announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the council passed her bill on the final vote, which would lead to strengthening D.C.'s minimum wage protections. Currently, across the District, minimum wage only applies to workers who work most of their hours in D.C., which can allow companies to evade the law by rotating workers between job sites.
The bill that was passed closes the loophole, according to George.
Under current law, George said the requirement leads to confusion on how to pay certain hourly workers who only work in the District occasionally. Reportedly, some companies rotate their employees between different sites in the area to intentionally keep employees below a certain amount of hours in D.C. -- evading having to pay the District's minimum wage.
At the beginning of July, D.C.'s minimum wage increased to $17 an hour for non-tipped workers, while tipped employees also saw an increase to $8 an hour.
George stated that closing this loophole is particularly important for construction workers, who are vulnerable to this form of wage manipulation.
The bill is now headed to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's desk for review and approval. After this, it will head to congressional review before becoming an official law.