2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 32 - Labor › Chapter 10 - Minimum Wages › Subchapter I - General › § 32–1003. Requirements

§ 32–1003. Requirements.
*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on February 19, 2024. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation, click this link: Permanent Version.*
(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of January 1, 2005, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $6.60 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 206 et seq.) (“Fair Labor Standards Act”), plus $1, whichever is greater.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of January 1, 2006, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $7 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of July 1, 2014, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $9.50 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(4) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of July 1, 2015, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $10.50 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(5)(A) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section and subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the minimum hourly wage required to be paid to an employee by an employer shall be as of:
(i) July 1, 2016: $11.50;
(ii) July 1, 2017: $12.50;
(iii) July 1, 2018: $13.25;
(iv) July 1, 2019: $14.00; and
(v) July 1, 2020: $15.00.
(B) If the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("U.S. minimum wage") is greater than the minimum hourly wage currently being paid pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the minimum hourly wage paid to an employee by an employer shall be the U.S. minimum wage plus $1.
(6)(A) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, beginning on July 1, 2021, and no later than July 1 of each successive year, the minimum wage provided in this subsection shall be increased in proportion to the annual average increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the previous calendar year. Any increase under this paragraph shall be adjusted to the nearest multiple of $.05.
(B) Repealed.
(b) A person shall be employed in the District of Columbia when:
(1) The person regularly spends more than 50% of their working time in the District of Columbia; or
(2) The person’s employment is based in the District of Columbia and the person regularly spends a substantial amount of their working time in the District of Columbia and not more than 50% of their working time in any particular state.
(c) No employer shall employ any employee for a workweek that is longer than 40 hours, unless the employee receives compensation for employment in excess of 40 hours at a rate not less than 1 1/2 times the regular rate at which the employee is employed.
(d) All workers with disabilities shall be paid at a rate not less than the minimum wage, except in those instances where a certificate has been issued by the United States Department of Labor that authorizes the payment of less to workers with disabilities under § 214(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act [29 U.S.C. § 214(c)].
(e) No employer shall be deemed to have violated subsection (c) of this section if the employee works for a retail or service establishment and:
(1) The regular rate of pay of the employee is in excess of 11/2 times the minimum hourly rate applicable to the employee under this subchapter; and
(2) More than 1/2 of the employee’s compensation for a representative period (not less than 1 month) represents commissions on goods or services.
(f)(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term "tipped minimum wage" shall mean the minimum hourly wage required to be paid by an employer to an employee who receives tips.
(2) As of July 1, 2021, the "tipped minimum wage" shall be $5.05 an hour with tips on top; provided , that the employee actually receives tips in an amount at least equal to the difference between the hourly wage paid and the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section. This tipped minimum wage will increase on July 1, 2022 in proportion to the annual average increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for the previous calendar year. Any increase under this paragraph shall be adjusted to the nearest multiple of $.05.
(3) Except as provided in subsections (h) and (i) of this section, as of May 1, 2023, the tipped minimum wage shall be not less than $6.00 an hour with tips on top; provided, that the employee actually receives tips in an amount at least equal to the difference between the hourly wage paid and the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section.
(4) Except as provided in subsections (h) and (i) of this section, as of July 1, 2023, the tipped minimum wage shall be not less than $8.00 an hour, with tips on top; provided, that the employee actually receives tips in an amount at least equal to the difference between the hourly wage paid and the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section.
(5) Except as provided in subsections (h) and (i) of this section, as of July 1, 2024, the tipped minimum wage shall be not less than $10.00 an hour, with tips on top; provided, that the employee actually receives tips in an amount at least equal to the difference between the hourly wage paid and the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section.
(6) Except as provided in subsections (h) and (i) of this section, as of July 1, 2025, the tipped minimum wage shall be not less than $12.00 an hour, with tips on top; provided, that the employee actually receives tips in an amount at least equal to the difference between the hourly wage paid and the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section.
(7) Except as provided in subsections (h) and (i) of this section, as of July 1, 2026, the tipped minimum wage shall be not less than $14.00 an hour, with tips on top; provided, that the employee actually receives tips in an amount at least equal to the difference between the hourly wage paid and the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section.
(8) Except as provided in subsections (h) and (i) of this section, as of July 1, 2027, the tipped minimum wage shall be not less than the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section, with tips on top.
(f-1) The Mayor shall publish in the District of Columbia Register, on the Department of Employment Services website, and make available to employers in a bulletin, the adjusted minimum hourly wage to be paid by an employer to an employee pursuant to subsections (a)(5) and (6) and (f) of this section at least 30 days before an increase is scheduled to go into effect.
(g) Subsection (f) of this section shall not apply to an employee who receives gratuities, unless:
(1) The employer has provided the employee with notice of the following, included in the notice furnished pursuant to § 32-1008(c):
(A) The provisions of subsection (f) of this section;
(B) If tips are not shared, that the tipped employee shall retain all tips received;
(C) If tips are shared, the employer's tip-sharing policy; and
(D) The percentage by which tips paid via credit card will be reduced by credit card fees;
(2) If the employer uses tip sharing, the employer has posted the tip-sharing policy; and
(3) All gratuities received by the employee have been retained by the employee, except that this provision shall not be construed to prohibit the sharing of gratuities among employees who customarily receive gratuities.
(h) Beginning on July 1, 2019, and no later than July 1 of each successive year, an employer shall pay a security officer working in an office building in the District of Columbia wages, or any combination of wages and benefits, that are not less than the combined amount of the minimum wage and fringe benefit rate in effect on September 1 of the immediately preceding year for the guard 1 classification established by the United States Secretary of Labor pursuant to Chapter 67 of Title 41 of the United States Code (41 U.S.C. § 6701
et seq.
), as amended.
(i) The provisions of subsection (f)(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) of this section shall not apply to employees of the District of Columbia, or to employees employed to perform services provided under contracts with the District of Columbia. Those employees shall continue to be subject to the minimum wage requirements of this subchapter as they existed before the February 23, 2023, and to the requirements of all other applicable laws, regulations, or policies relating to wages or benefits, including subchapter X-A of Chapter 2 of Title 2.
(Mar. 25, 1993, D.C. Law 9-248, § 4, 40 DCR 761; Apr. 8, 2005, D.C. Law 15-296, § 2, 52 DCR 1483; Apr. 24, 2007, D.C. Law 16-305, § 47, 53 DCR 6198; Mar. 20, 2008, D.C. Law 17-114, § 2(b), 55 DCR 1276; Mar. 11, 2014, D.C. Law 20-91, § 2(a), 61 DCR 778; Aug. 19, 2016, D.C. Law 21-144, § 2(b), 63 DCR 9275; Oct. 11, 2018, D.C. Law 22-163, § 2, 65 DCR 8513; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 2272, 65 DCR 9388; Dec. 13, 2018, D.C. Law 22-196, §§ 2, 6(b), 65 DCR 12049; Mar. 8, 2023, D.C. Law 24-281, § 2, 69 DCR 15142; Nov. 21, 2023, D.C. Act 25-321, § 2, 70 DCR 15486.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 36-220.2.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 4-205.19k, § 32-1002, § 32-1004, § 32-1006, and § 32-1607.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 15-296 rewrote subsecs. (a) and (f) which had read:
“(a) On October 1, 1993, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be the minimum wage set by the United States government from time to time pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act ( 29 U.S.C. § 206 et seq.) (”Fair Labor Standards Act“), plus $1.”
“(f) In determining the wage of an employee who receives gratuities, the amount paid to the employee by the employer shall be deemed to be increased on account of gratuities by an amount determined by the employer, but not by an amount in excess of 55% of the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section, except that the amount of the increase on account of gratuities determined by the employer shall not exceed the value of gratuities received by the employee.”
D.C. Law 16-305, in subsec. (d), substituted “workers with disabilities” for “handicapped workers”.
D.C. Law 17-114, in subsecs. (a)(1) and (2), substituted “Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as” for “As”; and added subsec. (h).
The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-91 added (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5) and (a)(6).
Applicability
Section 3 of D.C. Law 25-2 (temporary (225-day) legislaiton) provided that the amendments made by D.C. Law 25-2 to this section shall apply as of November 30, 2022.
Section 7065 of D.C. Law 23-149 amended section 8 of D.C. Law 22-196 removing the applicability provision impacting this section. Therefore, the amendment of this section by section 6(b) of Law 22-196 has been implemented.
Section 2(b) of D.C. Act 22-465 provided that D.C. Law 22-163 shall apply as of March 31, 2019.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of Tipped Wage Increase Implementation Clarification Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-321, Nov. 21, 2023, 70 DCR 15486).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of Tipped Minimum Wage Increase Implementation Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-3, Jan. 26, 2023, 70 DCR 1628).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Emergency Amendment Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-465, Oct. 5, 2018, 65 DCR 11400).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2272 of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2272 of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of Fair Shot Minimum Wage Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Act 21-428, June 28, 2016, 63 DCR 9271).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Minimum Wage Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-614, November 30, 2004, 51 DCR 11438).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Minimum Wage Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-19, February 17, 2005, 52 DCR 20965).
Temporary Legislation
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of Tipped Minimum Wage Increase Implementation Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Law 25-2, Apr. 19, 2023, 70 DCR 2648).
Editor's Notes
Section 5 of D.C. Law 24-281 provides that if any section of Law 24-281 or its application to any persons or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this measure, or the application of its provisions to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected. To this end, the provisions of Law 24-281 are severable.
Section 4 of D.C. Law 24-281 provides that nothing in D.C. Law 24-281 act shall be construed as preventing employers, during any period in which §32-1003(f)(7) is in effect, from implementing a mandatory tip sharing policy among all employees, regardless of whether such employees normally receive tips
Section 3 of D.C. Law 24-281 provides that nothing in D.C. Law 24-281 shall be construed as preventing the Council of the District of Columbia from increasing minimum wages or benefits to levels in excess of those provided for in D.C. Law 24-281 for any category of employees.
Section 5 of D.C. Law 22-163 provided that "This act shall supersede any amendments to section 4 of the Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992, effective March 25, 1993 (D.C. Law 9-248; D.C. Official Code § 32-1003), enacted on or after June 1, 2016, but before the effective date of this act."
Section 4 of D.C. Law 22-163 provided that "If any section of this act or its application to any persons or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this measure, or the application of its provisions to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected. To this end, the provisions of this act are severable."
Section 3 of D.C. Law 22-163 provided that "Nothing in this act shall be construed as preventing the Council of the District of Columbia from increasing minimum wages or benefits to levels in excess of those provided for in this act for any category of employees, including those employees described in section 4(i) of the Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992, effective March 25, 1993 (D.C. Law 9-248; D.C. Official Code § 32-1003(i))."
Section 3 of D.C. Law 20-91 provided that § 2(b)-(d) of the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register.
Section 7004 of Law 20-155 repealed D.C. Law 20-91, § 3.