Controversial DC tipping proposal goes before voters — again
A controversial proposal to change the pay structure for servers and other workers at Washington’s bars and restaurants goes before voters Tuesday
WASHINGTON (AP) — A controversial proposal to change the pay structure for servers and other workers at Washington's bars and restaurants goes before voters Tuesday, four years after approval of an identical ballot issue that was later overturned by the D.C. Council.
Initiative 82 would eliminate 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.
The proposal would gradually eliminate the two-tiered system, requiring employers to pay every staffer the $16.10 minimum by 2027.
