Wage-and-hour ground rules for hotel and hospitality employers in District of Columbia — minimum wage, tipped-employee rules, overtime, breaks, premium pay, and the hotel-specific obligations that apply on top. Figures below were last reviewed on June 12, 2026; most rates adjust annually.

Verified as of June 12, 2026 — every figure on this page was checked against the official sources listed at the bottom on that date. How we verify →

Minimum wage
$17.95
effective July 1, 2025
Tipped cash minimum
$10.00
max tip credit $7.95
Daily overtime
None
None (40-hr week)
Meal / rest breaks
No
meal: Not required · rest: Not required

Minimum wage#

The District of Columbia minimum wage is $17.95 per hour, effective July 1, 2025. Adjusted every July 1 by Washington-metro CPI (D.C. Code §32-1003); DOES has announced $18.40 effective 7/1/2026 (2.4% CPI increase). Highest state-level minimum wage in the country.

Scheduled changes
New rateEffectiveNotes
$18.40July 1, 2026

Tipped employees & tip pooling#

District of Columbia allows a tip credit: employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $10.00 and claim up to $7.95 per hour in tips toward the minimum wage. Tips plus cash wage must equal the full minimum wage each workweek or the employer pays the difference; employers must use a third-party payroll processor or certify compliance, file quarterly tipped-wage reports with DOES, and provide Initiative 77/82-era required notices and training. Initiative 82 (2022) would have eliminated the tip credit by 7/1/2027. The Council paused the scheduled 7/1/2025 step to $12 (emergency act, June 2025), then the FY2026 Budget Support Act amendments froze the cash wage at $10.00 through 6/30/2026 and replaced the phase-out with a percentage schedule: 56% of the full minimum wage on 7/1/2026 ($10.30, credit $8.10), 60% on 7/1/2028, 65% on 7/1/2030, 70% on 7/1/2032, capping at 75% from 7/1/2034. The tip credit is now permanent in current law.

Tip pooling#

Pooling permitted among non-managerial employees; the Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Act requires the employer's tip-sharing policy to be in writing, disclosed to employees, and reported with quarterly wage filings. Managers and employers excluded. (D.C. Code §32-1003; Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Act of 2018)

See the federal baseline rules in our tip credit and tip pooling briefs — the stricter of federal or District of Columbia law controls.

Overtime#

Overtime is due after 40 hours in a workweek. Time-and-a-half after 40 hours (D.C. Code §32-1003(c)); no daily overtime.

Run the math — including the tipped-overtime trap — with the tipped overtime calculator.

Meal & rest breaks#

Meal breaks: Not required by District of Columbia law for adult employees — No DC meal or rest break requirement; breaks are employer policy.. Federal law requires only that breaks under 20 minutes, if offered, be paid.

Rest breaks: Not required by District of Columbia law.

Scheduling & premium pay#

  • Reporting-time pay: Minimum daily pay rule: an employee who reports for a scheduled shift must be paid at least 4 hours for that day (unworked time at the minimum wage), or all scheduled hours if the regular shift is under 4 hours (7 DCMR §907).
  • Split-shift premium: One additional hour at the minimum wage for each workday on which a split shift (non-consecutive hours) is worked (7 DCMR §906).
  • Spread of hours: None.

Service charges & gratuities#

District of Columbia has no service-charge-specific statute — the federal tip/service-charge line (and IRS treatment) controls. Background: service charges, auto-gratuities & resort fees.

Pay administration#

  • Pay frequency: At least twice per month on designated regular paydays (D.C. Code §32-1302).
  • Wage statements: Itemized statement each payday (date, gross wages, deductions, net, hours). Effective Jan. 1, 2026, FY26 Budget Support Act amendments require all employers to itemize every compensation component — commissions, bonuses, gratuities, and service-charge amounts/percentages — on pay stubs. (D.C. Code §32-1008, as amended (2025))
  • Exempt salary floor: $684.00/week (federal) — DC follows the federal EAP salary floor ($684/week after the 2024 rule was vacated); note DC's separate, much higher living wage for District contractors.
  • Lodging credit: Not permitted — The DC Minimum Wage Act provides no general board/lodging credit; older DCMR meal-allowance provisions are of doubtful current application — flagged: treat the full cash rate as owed and verify any credit with DOES..

Tipped-wage compliance is uniquely procedural in DC: quarterly DOES reporting, third-party payroll requirement, mandatory sexual-harassment training for tipped workplaces, and the new 2026 pay-stub itemization (including service charges). The 4-hour reporting-pay and split-shift rules hit banquet and housekeeping scheduling. Watch the 7/1/2026 dual step: $18.40 full / $10.30 tipped.

Official sources#

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