Controversial DC tipping proposal approved by voters — again

By ASHRAF KHALIL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A controversial proposal to change the pay structure for servers and other workers at Washington’s bars and restaurants was approved by voters Tuesday, four years after an identical measure was overturned by the D.C. Council. Initiative 82 will eliminate the tipped wages system in which restaurant owners pay certain staff members well below the $16.10 minimum hourly wage on the assumption that the difference would be made up through customer tips. If the employees’ nightly tips don’t raise that income to the minimum, the employers make up the difference. Employers must now pay every staffer the $16.10 minimum by 2027.