D.C. voters approved Initiative 82 in 2022, voting to gradually increase the tipped minimum wage from $5.35 in 2022 by $2 annually to match the minimum wage of non-tipped employees in 2027. It was approved by a margin of 74% to 26%.
On July 28, the D.C. Council voted to amend the measure as part of the city’s 2026 budget by a vote of 7-5. The budget now heads to Mayor Muriel Bowser‘s (D) desk and then to Congress for final approval.
The council’s amendment maintains the tipped minimum wage at $10 per hour until July 1, 2026. The council had previously frozen the minimum wage at $10 in June when it was set to rise to $12 per hour. At $10 per hour, the tipped minimum wage is 56% of the city’s full minimum wage. The tipped minimum wage will increase to 60% of the city’s full minimum wage in 2028 and increase 5% until it reaches 75% of the full minimum wage in 2034.
Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At Large), one of the drafters of the change, said, “No one is happy 100 percent here. We want workers to be able to have the annual wage growth and restaurants to be able to have more manageable labor costs. We think that this strikes a balance.”
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who voted against the change, said, “While I appreciate that my colleagues are attempting to address the pressures the restaurant industry is experiencing in the face of failed economics on the national level, keeping workers at a subminimum wage and overturning the will of the voters is the wrong way to accomplish this.”
Initiative 82 is the second initiative approved by D.C. voters that enacted increases to the tipped minimum wage. In June 2018, voters approved Initiative 77 by a margin of 56% to 44%. In May 2018, tipped workers made $3.33 per hour. The initiative would have gradually increased the rate to match the city’s full minimum wage by 2026. In October 2018, the city council voted 8-5 in favor of repealing the initiative.
One Fair Wage sponsored both initiatives. Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, responded to the change to I-82, saying, “[T]his isn’t just a rollback of wages — it’s a rollback of democracy. Voters spoke loudly and clearly. Twice. But instead of honoring the will of the people, council members sided with a corporate lobby that spreads lies and bankrolls influence. All options are on the table, including referendum and recall, to reinstate One Fair Wage as required by the will of the voters and workers in DC.”
The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, which opposed both initiatives, said, “To be clear, this is a win for the industry. After months of advocacy, coalition-building, and tough conversation, the Council’s vote reflects recognition that the original path forward was not sustainable.”
A similar ballot initiative was defeated in Massachusetts in 2024 with 64% of voters opposing it. Question 5 would have gradually increased the wage of tipped employees until it met the state minimum wage in 2029 and continued to permit tipping in addition to the minimum wage.
To qualify an initiative for the ballot in Washington, D.C., proponents have 180 days to gather a number of signatures equal to at least 5% of the voters registered citywide. Signatures from 5% of registered voters in five of eight city wards are required to meet the city’s distribution requirement. After an initiative is approved, there are no restrictions on the city council when it comes to changing or repealing the initiative.
From 2010 through 2024, 283 initiated state statutes and five initiated ordinances in D.C. were approved by voters. Of these total initiatives from 2010 through 2024, 32 were legislatively altered as of July 18, 2025, including three initiatives in Arizona, Maine, and Missouri that also addressed minimum wage policy.
Additional reading:
Washington, D.C., Initiative 77, Minimum Wage Increase for Tipped Workers (June 2018)