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| D.C. officials passed a law to help tipped workers while repealing a wage hike. It was never funded. | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| More than a year after D.C. lawmakers overturned a voter-approved initiative to raise the wages of tipped workers, city officials have yet to implement measures to improve working conditions for servers and bartenders. | More than a year after D.C. lawmakers overturned a voter-approved initiative to raise the wages of tipped workers, city officials have yet to implement measures to improve working conditions for servers and bartenders. |
| Council members added several last-minute provisions when it voted in October 2018 to repeal Initiative 77, which voters had backed four months earlier as a way to raise the minimum wage for restaurant workers and others who rely on tips. Those measures, meant to assuage constituents frustrated by local politicians moving to overturn the will of voters, required the city to launch a public awareness campaign about the rights of tipped workers and form a new commission to champion their interests. | Council members added several last-minute provisions when it voted in October 2018 to repeal Initiative 77, which voters had backed four months earlier as a way to raise the minimum wage for restaurant workers and others who rely on tips. Those measures, meant to assuage constituents frustrated by local politicians moving to overturn the will of voters, required the city to launch a public awareness campaign about the rights of tipped workers and form a new commission to champion their interests. |
| It also mandated the creation of an anonymous tip line to report wage theft andthe training of restaurant managers and others on preventing sexual harassment and complying with minimum wage laws. | It also mandated the creation of an anonymous tip line to report wage theft andthe training of restaurant managers and others on preventing sexual harassment and complying with minimum wage laws. |
| Lawmakers touted these policies as a better way to address the plight of tipped workers, instead of making their bosses pay a higher minimum wage in addition to tips under Initiative 77. | Lawmakers touted these policies as a better way to address the plight of tipped workers, instead of making their bosses pay a higher minimum wage in addition to tips under Initiative 77. |
| But nothing came of them. | But nothing came of them. |
| Neither Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) nor Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who spearheaded the repeal, included the $2.6 million in the city budget necessary for city regulators to enforce the new requirements. | Neither Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) nor Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who spearheaded the repeal, included the $2.6 million in the city budget necessary for city regulators to enforce the new requirements. |
| Tipping wars: How Initiative 77 would have reshaped the restaurant world | Tipping wars: How Initiative 77 would have reshaped the restaurant world |
| “It’s egregious because they overturned a vote and they claimed they were going to do all this stuff to get at the issues people cared about and never did,” said Rev. Graylan Hagler, an anti-poverty activist who waged a campaign against repealing Initiative 77. “It tells voters they don’t matter, they don’t count.” | “It’s egregious because they overturned a vote and they claimed they were going to do all this stuff to get at the issues people cared about and never did,” said Rev. Graylan Hagler, an anti-poverty activist who waged a campaign against repealing Initiative 77. “It tells voters they don’t matter, they don’t count.” |
| Bowser’s office did not return repeated requests for comment on why funding for the measures was not in her last budget proposal. | Bowser’s office did not return repeated requests for comment on why funding for the measures was not in her last budget proposal. |
| Mendelson chided Restaurant Opportunities Center D.C., the worker advocacy group behind the measure, for not pushing the council to fund the new requirements on employers. | Mendelson chided Restaurant Opportunities Center D.C., the worker advocacy group behind the measure, for not pushing the council to fund the new requirements on employers. |
| “The mayor should try harder this year to include it in her budget, but I would also note the so-called self-proclaimed worker advocates did not lobby us as far as I know,” Mendelson said in an interview. | “The mayor should try harder this year to include it in her budget, but I would also note the so-called self-proclaimed worker advocates did not lobby us as far as I know,” Mendelson said in an interview. |
| A representative of the restaurant worker advocacy group said the organization’s focus was on the 2020 council elections and to eventually revive the fight to eliminate a separate tipped wage, not on the other changes Mendelson offered as a consolation prize. | A representative of the restaurant worker advocacy group said the organization’s focus was on the 2020 council elections and to eventually revive the fight to eliminate a separate tipped wage, not on the other changes Mendelson offered as a consolation prize. |
| Mendelson also criticized his fellow council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) because she chairs the committee that controls the budget for the city agency that needed funding to implement the measures aiding tipped workers. | Mendelson also criticized his fellow council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) because she chairs the committee that controls the budget for the city agency that needed funding to implement the measures aiding tipped workers. |
| Silverman said Mendelson was “being disingenuous” because he has control over more money in the budget and should have championed funding for his own bill. | Silverman said Mendelson was “being disingenuous” because he has control over more money in the budget and should have championed funding for his own bill. |
| Initiative 77 was part of a national effort to help restaurant workers. | Initiative 77 was part of a national effort to help restaurant workers. |
| The initiative would have ended a two-tier minimum wage system that allows employers to pay tipped workers a few dollars an hour, as long as customer gratuities add up to the standard minimum wage. It would have gradually increased the lower tipped minimum wage until there was one minimum wage paid by all employers. | The initiative would have ended a two-tier minimum wage system that allows employers to pay tipped workers a few dollars an hour, as long as customer gratuities add up to the standard minimum wage. It would have gradually increased the lower tipped minimum wage until there was one minimum wage paid by all employers. |
| Proponents said the law would provide stable wages to workers by reducing their reliance on tips. But opponents — including a vocal group of hundreds of restaurant workers — said the law would have threatened the city’s burgeoning dining scene and risked lower take-home pay if customers skimp on tips. | Proponents said the law would provide stable wages to workers by reducing their reliance on tips. But opponents — including a vocal group of hundreds of restaurant workers — said the law would have threatened the city’s burgeoning dining scene and risked lower take-home pay if customers skimp on tips. |
| Voters approved Initiative 77 in the June 2018 primary election by a 12-point margin. But the D.C. Council, a majority of which opposed the ballot measure before the vote, and the mayor repealed it within months. | Voters approved Initiative 77 in the June 2018 primary election by a 12-point margin. But the D.C. Council, a majority of which opposed the ballot measure before the vote, and the mayor repealed it within months. |
| To implement the other parts of repeal legislation, elected officials needed to set aside money to hire five compliance specialists and a full-time staffer for a new Tipped Worker Coordinating Council. The city also needed to come up with $100,000 for a public awareness campaign and $700,000 for a new website informing workers about their labor rights in the District. | To implement the other parts of repeal legislation, elected officials needed to set aside money to hire five compliance specialists and a full-time staffer for a new Tipped Worker Coordinating Council. The city also needed to come up with $100,000 for a public awareness campaign and $700,000 for a new website informing workers about their labor rights in the District. |
| “What we put in the repeal bill was some ideas and strategies to help with regard to wage theft, but wage theft is still illegal regardless of whether the mayor chose to fund these new programs,” Mendelson said. | “What we put in the repeal bill was some ideas and strategies to help with regard to wage theft, but wage theft is still illegal regardless of whether the mayor chose to fund these new programs,” Mendelson said. |
| While the mayor proposes the D.C. budget, the council can shift money around and fund programs over her objections. | While the mayor proposes the D.C. budget, the council can shift money around and fund programs over her objections. |
| In a city without representation, repeal of ballot measure angers residents | In a city without representation, repeal of ballot measure angers residents |
| Mendelson said he did not go to bat for the worker-friendly measures in the Initiative 77 repeal law because much of the budget fight was consumed by schools and housing. | Mendelson said he did not go to bat for the worker-friendly measures in the Initiative 77 repeal law because much of the budget fight was consumed by schools and housing. |
| Some of the provisions to helped tipped workers in the repeal legislation — including the new wage theft hotline and sexual harassment training requirements — came from legislation offered by Silverman as an alternative to repealing Initiative 77. | Some of the provisions to helped tipped workers in the repeal legislation — including the new wage theft hotline and sexual harassment training requirements — came from legislation offered by Silverman as an alternative to repealing Initiative 77. |
| “The chairman put those provisions in to appear like he was compromising,” Silverman said. “If he’s putting the blame on me, he had no intention of ever wanting these provisions to be implemented, which is really disappointing and disingenuous, especially given that voters approved Initiative 77.” | “The chairman put those provisions in to appear like he was compromising,” Silverman said. “If he’s putting the blame on me, he had no intention of ever wanting these provisions to be implemented, which is really disappointing and disingenuous, especially given that voters approved Initiative 77.” |
| Surviving on tips: Hear from workers and business owners split on the issue | Surviving on tips: Hear from workers and business owners split on the issue |
| Meanwhile, restaurants are in a bind. | Meanwhile, restaurants are in a bind. |
| The law imposes new requirements on them for reporting wages, providing information to employees and undergoing sexual harassment training, but the city isn’t enforcing them. | The law imposes new requirements on them for reporting wages, providing information to employees and undergoing sexual harassment training, but the city isn’t enforcing them. |
| “It’s very confusing,” said Kathy Hollinger, who leads the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. | “It’s very confusing,” said Kathy Hollinger, who leads the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. |
| Hollinger said her association has held two training seminars attended by hundreds on the requirements of the law, so businesses are prepared to comply if they ever take effect. | Hollinger said her association has held two training seminars attended by hundreds on the requirements of the law, so businesses are prepared to comply if they ever take effect. |
| Some of the voters who were aghast when their representatives repealed Initiative 77 were dumbfounded when told nothing came from the compromise proposal passed by the council. | Some of the voters who were aghast when their representatives repealed Initiative 77 were dumbfounded when told nothing came from the compromise proposal passed by the council. |
| “Not only did they not take voters seriously, but they didn’t even take themselves seriously,” said Fernando Laguarda, a law professor who lives in Tenleytown. “They need to stop making promises they know they can’t keep.” | “Not only did they not take voters seriously, but they didn’t even take themselves seriously,” said Fernando Laguarda, a law professor who lives in Tenleytown. “They need to stop making promises they know they can’t keep.” |
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