The District of Columbia Council recently passed a law to increase the minimum wage for employees to $15 by 2022. The District of Columbia joins other states in raising its minimum wage to rates higher than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. The current minimum wage in the District ($10.50) is scheduled to rise in July to $11.50. Pursuant to the recently passed legislation, the minimum wage is set to increase yearly by $.70 until it reaches $15 in 2022. After that, the minimum wage will increase automatically in an amount that will be tied to inflation.
The legislation, which is expected to be signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, does not provide for as drastic an increase for tipped workers. The base pay for tipped workers increases from $2.77 per hour to $5 by 2022. After that, further increases also will be tied to inflation.