The minimum wage in Washington, D.C. is $17.95 per hour through June 30, 2026, and rises to $18.40 per hour on July 1, 2026.1Department of Employment Services. District of Columbia Minimum Wage Increase Notice 2026 The rate applies to every private-sector employee in the District regardless of employer size. Tipped workers have a separate, lower base wage, and a small number of job categories are exempt.
The Current Rate and What Changes in July 2026
From July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, the standard minimum wage is $17.95 per hour. On July 1, 2026, it moves to $18.40 per hour for all covered workers.1Department of Employment Services. District of Columbia Minimum Wage Increase Notice 2026 There is no lower rate for small businesses, and no training wage for new hires.
D.C.’s rate is one of the highest in the country because it adjusts every year automatically, without a legislative vote.
Tipped Wages and the Employer Make-Up Rule
If you work for tips, your employer can pay a lower base hourly wage. Through June 30, 2026, that base is $10.00 per hour. Starting July 1, 2026, it rises to $10.30 per hour.1Department of Employment Services. District of Columbia Minimum Wage Increase Notice 2026
The base rate is only half the picture. When your tips plus your base wage don’t reach the full standard minimum wage for a given workweek, your employer has to cover the difference so that your effective hourly pay hits $17.95 (or $18.40 after July 1, 2026).2Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Wage and Hour Laws There is no exception for slow shifts, bad weather, or seasonal dips.
The tipped base wage will keep climbing each year under Initiative 82, the tip credit elimination measure D.C. voters passed in November 2022, until it matches the standard minimum wage.2Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Wage and Hour Laws The D.C. Council has adjusted the timeline, but the endpoint has not changed.
How the Annual Increase Is Calculated
Under the Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016, the minimum wage adjusts automatically every July 1 based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan area.3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-1003 – Minimum Wages The Department of Employment Services uses the CPI-U figure as of December 31 of the prior year to set the new rate.4Department of Employment Services. 2026 Notice of Living Wage Increase to Employers
The metro-area CPI-U is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and covers price changes across the District, Maryland, Virginia, and parts of West Virginia.5U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Because the number is tied to actual inflation data, the wage can go up or hold flat, but it never decreases year over year.
Overtime and Split Shift Pay
D.C. follows the federal overtime rule. If you are not exempt and you work more than 40 hours in a single workweek, every hour past 40 must be paid at one-and-a-half times your regular rate.6U.S. Department of Labor. Overtime Pay A workweek is a fixed seven-day period, and employers cannot average hours across two weeks to keep you under the threshold. Overtime is owed even when you worked the extra hours without prior approval.
The District also has a split shift rule. When your employer schedules you for non-consecutive hours in the same day (a morning shift and an evening shift with several hours off between them, for example), you’re entitled to one extra hour of pay at the minimum wage on top of your regular compensation.7Department of Employment Services. Chapter 9 Wage-Hour Rules A normal meal break of an hour or less does not create a split shift. The rule does not apply to employees who live on the employer’s premises.
Who Is Exempt from the DC Minimum Wage
Most workers in the District are covered. Federal government employees are the most visible group that is not; they’re paid on federal scales rather than under District labor law.2Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Wage and Hour Laws
D.C. Code § 32-1004 lists specific exemptions from both the minimum wage and overtime:
- Executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet both a duties test and a salary threshold. The currently enforced federal salary floor is $684 per week, or $35,568 annually.8D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-1004 – Exceptions9U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption
- Outside salespeople whose primary job is making sales away from the employer’s place of business.8D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-1004 – Exceptions
- Newspaper delivery workers who deliver directly to consumers’ homes.8D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-1004 – Exceptions
Casual babysitters who work irregularly and whose main occupation is something else are excluded from the definition of “employee” under D.C. Code § 32-1002, which puts them outside minimum wage coverage.2Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Wage and Hour Laws Being labeled a “manager” or paid a salary does not, on its own, make you exempt. The exemption depends on your actual duties and your pay.
What to Do If You’re Being Underpaid
If your paycheck is below the applicable minimum wage, if overtime is missing, or if your tips and base wage don’t add up to the full minimum, you can file a claim with the DOES Office of Wage-Hour. You have three years from the date of the violation to file.10Office of Wage-Hour. Frequently Asked Questions
A successful wage claim in D.C. carries real weight. Under D.C. Code § 32-1308, prevailing workers can recover liquidated damages equal to three times the unpaid wages, plus attorney’s fees if the case goes to court.11D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-1308 – Civil Actions Wages shorted by $2,000 can translate into $6,000 in liquidated damages on top of the wages themselves.
Filing a complaint is protected activity. Under D.C. Code § 32-1311, an employer cannot fire, threaten, or demote you for filing a wage complaint or cooperating with an investigation, and any adverse action within 90 days of the filing is presumed to be retaliation unless the employer can prove otherwise by clear and convincing evidence.12D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-1311 – Retaliation Before you file, pull together your pay stubs, any personal record of hours worked, and your employer’s legal name and address. Pay stubs are the most important piece, because they show the rate you were actually paid.