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Happening Today: Washington, DC and Portland, Maine Voters Weigh Eliminating Tipped Minimum Wage


Election Day is today and that means congressional race, statewide offices, and a host of ballot initiatives will be before voters across the country.

For the purposes of this post, I want to call attention to two ballot initiatives in front of voters in Washington, DC and Portland, Maine that could potentially eliminate the tipped minimum wage in these cities.

In Washington, DC, Initiative 82 would incrementally increase the tipped minimum wage rate from its current $5.05/hour to match the non tipped minimum wage by 2027.  Beginning in January, the tipped minimum wage would increase to $6/hour and then an additional $2/hour in July and then every July thereafter until 2027.

As for Portland, Question D, asks voters whether they want to hike the current tipped minimum wage rate from its current $6.38 to $18/hour by 2025.  While voters had previously approved a wage hike for all workers in 2016, the Maine Legislature approved a reinstatement of a sub minimum wage for tipped workers in 2017.

While it may take a few days for a definitive tally of the votes in Washington, DC and Portland, these ballot measures will be worth keeping an eye on in the coming days.  If I had to guess, I think it is likely both ballot measures will be approved although the vote in Washington p, DC will likely be closer than in Portland.


For additional information as to Washington, DC’s Initiative 82:  https://www.washingtonian.com/2022/10/24/a-dc-voters-guide-to-initiative-82-and-the-tipped-minimum-wage/

For additional information as to Portland’s Question D:  https://foodtank.com/news/2022/11/voters-in-portland-me-to-decide-whether-to-raise-wages-for-workers/

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