DC Council votes to pause increasing tipped worker minimum wage

In an exigency vote Tuesday the D C Council voted to pause the increase of the tipped minimum wage in the city which would have taken effect July Initiative was passed by an overwhelming majority of D C voters in and entails raising the minimum wage of tipped workers such as restaurant employees or hair stylists from to by But since Mayor Muriel Bowser stated her fiscal budget would likely repeal Initiative as part of her plan to transform the city s federally dependent financial market critics of the controversial law including the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington have voiced their aid Related stories DC restaurant association says city should reassess Initiative despite uncertainty with the council DC restaurant association calls on city council to repeal Initiative DC mayor says Initiative necessities to be repealed How will Initiative impact the DC restaurant scene in In a letter to the council Tuesday morning Bowser wrote that the repeal of the law would endorsement the ongoing viability of our local restaurants amidst notable economic headwinds In a announcement Tuesday RAMW noted the crisis pause on the next phase of Initiative creates a powerful opportunity for us to look precisely at the content and listen to even more of our workers Economic conditions have changed drastically since Initiative was on the ballot in It s our shared responsibility to consider the world as it is rather than as it was the organization wrote RAMW shared in a summary earlier this year that of restaurant operators fear closing down in Association president and CEO Shawn Townsend notified WTOP that the extra dollar or two raise that tipped workers would have gotten in July would ve caused a -plus increase in labor costs Workers on behalf of One Fair Wage a nonprofit organization that pushes for restaurant workers to receive living wages testified Tuesday before the - vote was held and called the emergency passage a backroom attempt to override the will of DC voters who have twice backed the elimination of the subminimum wage at the ballot box One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman declared in a message that moving to pause the increased wages would impact in extremely harmful effects during an already contentious affordability problem We should be fighting for living wages and not reversing raises that voters overwhelmingly approved The Council must stand with workers not the corporate interests trying to undermine them she wrote No Tax on Tips Mayor Bowser also wrote to the council regarding Congress modern passage of the No Tax on Tips Act a bill that establishes a new tax deduction eliminating federal income taxes on up to for cash tips of employees who make under in Experts say certain middle-income institution workers would benefit from a tax break but warn that it could heighten inequities Among tipped workers who make enough to owe Uncle Sam the average tax cut would be about according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Strategy Center RAMW also urged the D C Council to consider how the no tax on tips would open a new path to prosperity for workers and significantly reduce the burden on restaurant owners Bowser added The pause on increasing the tipped minimum wage will provide much needed clarity and predictability to local restaurants as these local and federal bills are being debated One Fair Wage stated the measure would offer moderate relief for a few but is part of a tax package that just helps the richest while leaving the vast majority behind The Associated Press contributed to this description Source