Starting July 1, D.C. will begin taking its first steps towards a $15 minimum wage.
Minimum wage will increase from $12.50 to $13.50 an hour and tipped workers, who earn $3.33 an hour, will earn $3.89 an hour.
The Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act was first passed in 2016 and has led to the increase of minimum wage in the District since. Minimum wage will increase to $15 by 2020.
Now, the increase of wages will affect tipped workers since the vote on Initiative 77 passed earlier in June.
Initiative 77 called for the raising of minimum wage for tipped workers, who don’t get the same minimum wage as other workers. The expectation is that they will make up for that pay in tips.
Some proponents of the bill argued that it would put the various workers in a restaurant on fair ground and stand up for people of color, women and immigrations.
Opponents worried it would actually lower workers’ pay and lead to shrinking staffs at restaurants.
Most of the District’s Wards voted YES on the initiative with the exception of Ward 3 where NO votes passed only by a small margin, according to the DC Board of Elections.
