DC Council takes initial steps to overturn voter-approved minimum wage hike for tipped workers

D.C. lawmakers on Tuesday voted to overturn an initiative that would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, just four months after voters approved the measure.

The D.C. Council voted 8-5 to repeal the measure, known as Initiative 77, which would raise wages to $12.50 an hour. 

The move marks the first of several votes needed to send the legislation to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) desk, according to The Washington Post. Bowser has already vowed to sign the repeal legislation, the Post reported.

{mosads}Under D.C. law, tipped workers are paid $3.33 an hour. Employers are required to make up the difference if workers do not receive at least the minimum wage in tips.

The D.C. minimum wage is scheduled to rise to $15 an hour by 2020.

“The one fair wage movement is something that’s not going away,” Diana Ramirez, who leads the advocacy group backing Initiative 77, told The Washington Post. “We either come back again on the ballot, whether that’s a ballot initiative or something else. But we need to send a message that what they started doing today is not ok and there will be consequences for overturning this.”

Supporters of the controversial ballot measure said raising the wage would protect tipped workers, who are primarily women and people of color, against mistreatment from customers. 

Opponents, however, including many restaurant owners and servers and bartenders who already earn more than the standard minimum wage in tips, said the initiative would lead to job loss, raised prices on menus and restaurants closing.