Vote ‘No’ on Initiative 82
By • October 12, 2022 0 1929
The last item on your ballot is Initiative Measure No. 82 which reads: “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2021.”
“Under current law, employers of employees classified as “tipped workers” may take a credit against tipped wages received by workers to satisfy the minimum wage guaranteed to all workers by law. If enacted, the Initiative would gradually eliminate the credit, such that the mandatory base wage (currently $5.05 per hour, indexed to inflation) paid by employers shall increase until 2027, when the mandatory base wage matches the minimum wage established by District of Columbia law (currently $15.20 per hour, indexed to inflation). Tips continue as property of employees and will be in addition to the statutory minimum hourly wage.”
The choice is yes or no. The Georgetowner advises you to vote “No.”
We agree with the “No” advocates that “the tip credit guarantees that servers and bartenders receive the minimum wage but enables tipped employees to earn well above that amount — about $26 per hour, on average. Initiative 82 would eliminate the tip credit and upend this system, harming servers and bartenders across the District.” Additionally, “restaurants and bars are likely to institute a service charge and eliminate tipping, servers and bartenders would earn considerably less than they do now through an hourly wage and restaurants and bars would face major increases in labor costs and be forced to cut back employee hours and eliminate positions.”
As the Washington Post wrote, the initiative is “still a bad idea.”
