Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed the bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, starting in 2020.
The District of Columbia will join the states of New York and California and numerous other cities that have voted to more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The bill will gradually raise the minimum wage each year, about 70 cents per year, until reaching the target in 2020.
While there was broad consensus on the City Council about the wage hike, there was plenty of debate about how to fairly compensate workers who rely on tips. The bill calls for an increase to $5 in base hourly pay for tipped workers.
Bowser signed the new law at a ceremony in Columbia Heights Monday night.
