The minimum wage in the District of Columbia has been increased to $10.50 an hour for all workers, as of July 1st, 2015.
In addition to this 15 percent wage increase, the Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2013 will raise the minimum wage to $11.50 per hour on July 1, 2016.
In 2017, minimum wage will increase in proportion to the Washington Metropolitan Area’s annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding 12 months. This automatic increase will keep income at the cost of living.
“This increase will help more people make ends meet in an economy that favors a small handful of people who bring in most of the money,” wrote Ilana Boivie, Senior Policy Analyst for DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI), in a July 7 blog post for the organization.
The wage gap between the highest and lowest paid workers in the District is the highest it has been in 35 years. The top five percent of earners make over $500,000 a year, while those working full-time for minimum wage only make $20,000 annually, putting them below the poverty line for a family of three, according to DCFPI.
“The minimum wage increase is one of several new labor laws in the District that will help D.C. working families,” Boivie wrote. “Others include expanding paid sick leave protections, ensuring the rights of pregnant and breastfeeding workers, and ‘Ban the Box.’”
Ban the Box is a new rule that prohibits employers from asking about previous criminal arrests or accusations that are not currently pending or resulted in a conviction.
These new laws will go a long way to provide more families a stable income, but more increases may still be warranted.
The “living wage” in DC—what it takes to meet all basic living expenses—is $20.27 an hour for a family of four, according to MIT. When households fall below this income level, if they remain above the federal poverty line, having enough income for housing and food can be difficult, according to Boivie.
Even with this annual increase in place, efforts are in the works to raise the minimum wage even higher. The DC Working Families Party, along with a coalition of labor and social justice groups announced a ballot campaign on April 15, tax day, to raise the D.C. minimum wage to $15 an hour. Along with this announcement, hundreds of workers walked off their minimum wage paying jobs in protest.
Many economists and republicans in Congress state the negative side effects a raise in minimum wage would have on the economy. James Dorn wrote about the adverse effects in Forbes, stating, “The belief that increasing the minimum wage is socially beneficial is a delusion. It is short-sighted and ignores evident reality…A higher minimum wage attracts new entrants but does not guarantee them a job.”
However, a study done by Professors Dale Belman and Paul J. Wolfson found that “Increases in the minimum wage raise the hourly wage and earnings of workers in the lower part of the wage distribution and have very modest or no effects on employment, hours, and other labor market outcomes.”
