D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large) recently passed two bills that will likely benefit District workers.
Bonds shepherded the Minimum Wage Clarification Act of 2023, allowing more workers to earn the minimum wage — $17 per hour — for all hours worked in the District. Under current law, only employees who spend 51% of their work week in the District are entitled to the full living wage. The bill will prevent employers from rotating workers within the Washington metropolitan area to keep them under the 51% threshold.
“We need to close that loophole so that everyone who works in the District earns the D.C. minimum wage, which we put in place to help people become self-sufficient,” Bonds said.
She also led the passage of the Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023, which broadly expands employment protections for prospective and current employees in the District. The legislation will prohibit employers from screening interviewees on their wage history, require employers to provide minimum or maximum wage salary ranges on all job postings, and require employers to provide prospective employees with a schedule of benefits before the first interview. The bill would give enforcement powers of the bill to the Office of the D.C. Attorney General.
“This bill makes the District an even more marketable place of employment for job seekers and will alleviate discrimination by better equipping job seekers in their negotiations for fair pay,” the council member said.
