5041689 Elections, Board of - Notice of Public Hearing to consider whether the propose measure "No Worker Shall Make Less Than the Minimum Wage Act of 2016", is a proper subject matter for initiative.
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BOARD OF ELECTIONS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
RECEIPT AND INTENT TO REVIEW INITIATIVE MEASURE
The Board of Elections shall consider in a public hearing whether the proposed measure, “No Worker Shall Make Less Than the Minimum Wage Act of 2016”, is a proper subject matter for initiative, at the Board’s meeting on September 10, 2014 at 10:30 am., One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, N.W., Suite 280, Washington DC.
The Board requests that written memoranda be submitted for the record no later than 4:00 p.m., Thursday, September 4, 2014 to the Board of Elections, General Counsel’s Office, One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, N.W., Suite 270, Washington, D.C. 20001.
Each individual or representative of an organization who wishes to present testimony at the public hearing is requested to furnish his or her name, address, telephone number and name of the organization represented (if any) by calling the General Counsel’s office at 727-2194 no later than Friday, September 5, 2014 at 4:00p.m.
The Short Title, Summary Statement and Legislative Text of the proposed initiative read as follows:
SHORT TITLE
"NO WORKER SHALL MAKE LESS THAN THE MINIMUM WAGE ACT OF 2016”
SUMMARY STATEMENT
This initiative, if passed, would increase the minimum wage in the District of Columbia to $15.00 and eliminate the loophole that allows employers to pay tipped workers only $2.77 an hour. This initiative would:
· increase the minimum wage in the District of Columbia to $15.00 by 2019 and require the minimum wage during each successive year to increase in proportion to the increase in the Consumer Price Index; and
· gradually increase the minimum wage for tipped employees so that they receive the same minimum wage as other employees by 2024.
LEGISLATIVE TEXT
BE IT ENACTED BY THE ELECTORS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "No Worker Shall Make Less Than the Minimum Wage Act of 2016."
Sec. 2. The Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992, effective March 25, 1993 (D.C. Law 9-248; D.C. Official Code § 32-1001, et seq) (Act 9-394), as amended, is amended as follows:
(a) Section 4 (D.C. Official Code § 32-1003) is amended to read as follows:
"(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) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of July 1, 2016, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $11.50 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(6) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of July 1, 2017, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $12.50 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(7) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of July 1, 2018, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $13.75 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(8) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, as of July 1, 2019, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia shall be $15.00 an hour, or the minimum wage set by the United States government pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, plus $1, whichever is greater.
(9)(1) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, beginning on July 1, 2020 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.
(2) The Mayor shall publish in the District of Columbia Register and make available to employers a bulletin announcing the adjusted minimum wage rate as provided in this paragraph. The bulletin shall be published at least 30 days prior to the annual minimum wage rate adjustment.
(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.
(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 1 1/2 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) As of January 1, 2005, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $2.77 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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.
(2) As of July 1, 2017, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $4.50 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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.
(3) As of July 1, 2018, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $6.00 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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) As of July 1, 2019, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $8.75 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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) As of July 1, 2020, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $10.50 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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) As of July 1, 2021, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $12.00 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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) As of July 1, 2022, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $13.50 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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) As of July 1, 2023, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be $15.00 an hour, provided that the employee actually receives gratuities 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.
(9) As of July 1, 2024, the minimum wage required to be paid by any employer in the District of Columbia to any employee who receives gratuities shall be the minimum wage as set by subsection (a) of this section.
(10) To the extent that the Mayor exercises his regulatory authority under § 32-1006 to allow employers to temporarily pay newly hired persons 18 years of age or older a wage lower than the minimum wage set by subsection (a) of this section, the wage an employer pays pursuant to such regulation or regulations to an employee who receives gratuities shall in no case be lower than the wage required to be paid to employees who do not receive gratuities under such regulation or regulations, and in no case lower than the minimum wage set by § 206(a)(1)(C) of the Fair Labor Standards Act or any successor provision. No employer may take any action to displace employees (including partial displacements such as reduction in hours, wages, or employment benefits) for the purpose of hiring individuals at the wage authorized by such regulations.
(g) Subsections (f)(1), (f)(2),(f)(3), (f)(4), (f)(5), (f)(6), (f)(7) and (f)(8) of this section shall not apply to an employee who receives gratuities unless:
(1) The employee has been informed by the employer of the provisions of subsection (f) of this section; and
(2) All gratuities received by the employee have been retained by the employee, except that this provision shall not be construed to prohibit the pooling of gratuities among employees who customarily receive gratuities.
(h) An employer shall pay a security officer working in a 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 for the guard 1 classification established by the United States Secretary of Labor pursuant to the Service Contract Act of 1965, approved October 22, 1965 (79 Stat. 1034; 41 U.S.C. § 351), as amended.
(i)(1) Subsections (a)(6), (a)(7), (a)(8), (f)(2), (f)(3), (f)(4), (f)(5), (f)(6), (f)(7), (f)(8), (f)(9) and (f)(10) of this section shall not apply to an "affiliated employee" as that term is defined at D.C. Official Code § 2-220.02(1).
(2) Nothing in this subsection (i) shall interfere with the operation of any provision of the Living Wage Act of 2006 (D.C. Law 16-118, D.C. Official Code § 2-220.01 et seq.) as amended."
(b) A new Section 17 (D.C. Official Code § 32-1016) is added to read as follows:
"Section 17. Severability.
If any provision of this Chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the declaration of invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Chapter are deemed severable."
Sec. 3. 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.
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement.
Sec. 5. Effective date.
This act shall take effect after a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Self-government and Government Reorganization Act (Home Rule Act), approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.
