Effective Tuesday, the minimum wage for workers in the District went up from $17.50 to $17.95. The increase for tipped employees is on pause until the fall.
The minimum wage is adjusted each year by the D.C. Department of Employment Services based on the region’s consumer price index as computed by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The minimum wage previously increased from $17 to $17.50 for most workers and from $8 to $10 for tipped employees in July 2024, according to a notice from the DOES Office of Wage Hour.
Some categories of workers have a higher minimum wage. Starting Tuesday, security officers in office buildings must be paid at least $19.39 per hour plus another $5.36 per hour for health, welfare, vacation and holiday benefits, DOES said in another document.
The minimum base wage for tipped employees was supposed to increase from $10 to $12 Tuesday, but the D.C. Council voted 8-4 to pause the increase last month. The base wage for tipped employees is now scheduled to go up in October.
If an employee’s hourly tips plus $10 do not add up to $17.95, then their employer is required to make up the difference. An employee’s hourly tips are averaged weekly, DOES said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed repealing the ballot measure that mandates the increases for tipped employees, Initiative 82, in her 2026 budget. In a release, her office said that repealing the initiative and instituting sales tax holidays for restaurants would help attract business to the city.
