Controversial DC tipping proposal approved by voters -- again

Source: Associated Press

Controversial DC tipping proposal approved by voters — again

By ASHRAF KHALIL
November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — A controversial proposal to change the pay structure for servers and other workers at Washington’s bars and restaurants was approved Tuesday, four years after an identical measure was overturned by the D.C. Council.

Initiative 82 eliminates the so-called tipped wages system in which restaurant owners pay certain staff members well below the $16.10 minimum hourly wage on the assumption that the difference would be made up through customer tips.

Currently, restaurant managers pay some staffers salaries as low as $5.35 per hour. If the employees’ tips for the night don’t raise that income up to the minimum, the employers make up the difference.

That two-tiered system will now be phased out and employers will be required to pay every staffer at least the $16.10 minimum by 2027. With more than 40% of the expected vote in, the initiative had received more than 66,000 votes of approval compared with around 22,000 votes against.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-business-restaurants-government-and-politics-636760021e762733469344f1d75ad9bc