For Few That Keep Jobs, Nixing Tipped Min. Wage Is Good

Proposition I-82, a proposal to phase out the use of the “tipped” minimum wage, has passed in the District of Columbia’s midterm election. A similar proposition was rejected by voters in Portland, Maine. It is interesting that this proposal should have resurfaced in D.C., which according to the May 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics “Occupational Employment and Wages” report, compares favorably against any state in terms of annual mean wage estimates for waitstaff. In those terms, it already ranks higher than Washington State, a state that has phased out the tipped minimum wage. According to the BLS estimates, the annual mean wage for waitstaff in D.C. is $48,240 and $44,490 in Washington State.