Tipped Minimum Wage Rages On

By: Kristal Knight

In 2022 DC voters helped usher in Initiative 82 which ends tipped minimum wage over the next five years. However, since its passage more restaurants have begun taxing customers with extra fees to offset expenses to workers and it’s not always clear what extra fees customers are paying.

On a recent trip to DC, Oregon resident Trenelle Adams says that she went out to dinner with a friend and ended up spending more than she anticipated based on the cost of the meal. “I did the DC thing and got brunch and ended up spending almost $100 for just my meal. When I looked at my receipt, I realized there were embedded fees that I could not agree or deny that made my dining experience feel like I had been taken advantage of.” Trenelle is referring to the extra fees that many customers have begun seeing but cannot officially account for what they go towards.

Initiative 82 Ends Tipped Minimum Wage Over The Next Five Years

The new initiative took effect in May of 2023 and it’s been met with mixed reviews. While workers report higher wages, customers report increase in food prices and automatic taxes after the meal. This service charge is not always clear to the customer and some people have wondered if it’s going towards workers or the owners. Before Initiative 82 servers across the city made an average of $5.32 an hour before tips and employers were required to make up the difference of the hourly rate which is $17 an hour. Now that the initiative has been introduced, employers have to gradually increase worker pay over the next five years until 2027.

But now automatic service charges coupled with a drop in people going out to eat due to lingering Covid recession era drops makes it harder for people to dine. The service fees haven’t been clear at every restaurant and haven’t clarified what exactly they help pay for. Frequently visited restaurants like Mi Vida experienced backlash last year after owners instituted a 3.5% fee before taxes. The new fee was announced on the menu but that didn’t stop customers from complaining on local neighborhood sites like Popville.

Over the next few years it will be interesting to understand the trends of how restaurant business has grown or been hurt due to this initiative and the post effects of Covid.