Wages
Colorado – The governor signed legislation that would allow cities and counties that increase their local minimum wages to increase their tip credits above the fixed $3.02/hr set in current state law. Per the new law, local governments can still raise the minimum wage for non-tipped employees as high as they wish in accordance with state law if they maintain a tipped minimum wage of $11.79/hr (the statewide minimum). At the bill signing, the governor stated, “With this new legislative tool, I call on local governments in Denver, Boulder, Edgewater, and unincorporated Boulder County to take action to address the tip credit and ameliorate pay disparities between front and back-of-house.” More details.
Rhode Island – A house committee advanced legislation to increase the minimum wage to $16/hr by Jan. 1, 2026, and to $17/hr by 2027. The current minimum wage is $15/hr as of this past Jan. and the server wage is $3.89/hr. As written, the bill would not affect the server wage. More details.
Los Angeles – The city clerk’s office certified a business-backed referendum effort to repeal the city’s new $30/hr minimum wage law. The Los Angeles Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress (a coalition of airlines, hotels, and concession companies at Los Angeles International Airport) has until June 30 to gather around 93,000 signatures from registered voters in Los Angeles to qualify the measure for the June 2026 ballot. The recently-enacted minimum wage ordinance will gradually increase the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $30/hr by 2028. Under the plan, hotel and airport workers will receive $22.50/hr beginning in July, followed by a $2.50/hr increase in each of the following three years. The workers will earn $25/hr in 2026, $27.50/hr in 2027 and $30/hr in 2028 when the Olympic and Paralympic Games arrive in the L.A. region. Employers will also be required to provide a new $8.35/hr payment to cover health care starting Jan. 1, 2026. The petition was filed two days after Mayor Karen Bass signed the ordinance into law and four days after the city council gave its final approval. If the group can gather the necessary signatures by June 30, the new law will be “paused” while the referendum process plays out. More details.
Washington, DC – In an emergency meeting, the city council voted to pause the phase out of the tipped wage in the city. This action follows Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement that the 2026 budget would include language repealing Initiative 82. The repeal is part of a larger plan to transform the city’s federally dependent economy. Longtime critics of Initiative 82, including the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, have voiced their support for repeal. In a letter to the council, Bowser wrote that the repeal of the law would “support the ongoing viability of our local restaurants amidst significant economic headwinds.” Consideration of the budget, which includes a full repeal, will take place later this summer. Initiative 82 was approved by the voters in 2022, raising the minimum wage of tipped workers from $10/hr to $12/hr in July 2025, and eliminating the tip credit completely by 2027. More details.
Labor Policy
Labor Department – Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced a renewed and expanded commitment by the agency to the issuance of interpretation letters – commonly referred to as opinion letters or standard interpretations – intended to provide clear, timely, and authoritative guidance on federal labor laws. This initiative is designed to enhance transparency, legal certainty, and support for innovation across all the Labor Department’s agencies. The Labor Department aims to enhance transparency and legal certainty by prioritizing the issuance of opinion letters, which have seen a decline in recent years, to help employers and employees navigate complex labor law requirements. The initiative also focuses on improving the accessibility and transparency of the process for requesting opinion letters, supporting innovation, and proactive compliance in areas like the gig economy and artificial intelligence in employment. However, some workplace safety advocates believe they are an insufficient substitute for investigations and other active enforcement tools. More details.
Labor Activism
Los Angeles County, CA – Labor organizers, elected officials, and economic justice advocates gathered at a restaurant in downtown Santa Monica to launch the Living Wage for All campaign, a coordinated effort to raise Los Angeles County’s minimum wage to $30/hr and to build a national movement aimed at redefining compensation standards across the country. The event marked the public debut of a new countywide coalition that includes One Fair Wage, the National Education Association, the Center for Popular Democracy, and Community Change Action. The gathering followed a weekend summit of more than 100 organizers from 20 states who met to unify a national strategy around wage justice, just a week after the city of Los Angeles approved a $30/hr minimum wage for hospitality workers ahead of the 2028 Olympics. More details.
Food Policy
Louisiana – Legislation is on its way to the governor that would require products containing artificial dyes, chemical additives, and other ingredients to include a warning label on the product where the substances are “banned or not authorized in other countries.” Some non-controversial technical changes will force the bill back over to the senate for a pro forma re-vote. The governor has indicated that he will sign the bill when it gets to his desk. The bill lists 51 different ingredients that would require the warning, including several synthetic dyes, synthetic or artificial vanillin, propylparaben, potassium bromate, melatonin, bleached flour, and others. Additionally, the legislation would prohibit public schools and non-public schools receiving state funds from serving ultra-processed foods. The bill defines ultra-processed food as any food or beverage that contains the following: Blue dye 1, Blue dye 2, Green dye 3, Red dye 3, Red dye 40, Yellow dye 5, Yellow dye 6, azodicarbonamide, Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Potassium bromate, propylparaben, and titanium dioxide. The industry successfully fought for an amendment clarifying the disclosure language regarding seed oils. More details.
Interchange Fees
U.S. Senate – A vote to advance a major crypto regulation bill in the U.S. Senate failed this week as Democrats united to block the measure after bipartisan negotiations stalled. The vote on the GENIUS Act which would create the first U.S. regulatory framework for issuers of stablecoins, or digital tokens pegged to currencies like the dollar, was 48-49. Of importance to the industry, the bill served as the vehicle for the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) which was added as an amendment to the underlying bill. The CCCA would increase competition in the credit card processing market by requiring credit card issuers to offer at least two competing processing networks on each card. This would give merchants more choice in which network to use for transactions, potentially leading to lower fees and better service. Another effort at cloture will likely be made next week. More details.
Illinois – The legislature voted to delay the implementation of a bill that would end fees on certain transactions – tips and taxes – swiped by a debit card or credit card in the state. The bill, the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, will now take effect in July 2026, instead of next month. If and when implemented, Illinois will be the first state to restrict debit and credit card interchange fees on taxes and tips under the act, meaning any fee or change established by a card network for the purpose of compensating the bank for its involvement in an electronic transaction could not be applied to non-revenue sources, i.e. tips and taxes on the final bill. The bill is on the governor’s desk for his expected signature. More details.
Massachusetts – A senate committee heard legislation that would prohibit a credit card issuer to fix or conspire to fix an interchange fee with, or on behalf of, another covered credit card issuer or payment card network. The bill also has significant transparency requirements and other prohibitions. The hearing was pro forma, and no vote was taken. More details.
Key Takeaway
- The industry won stunning victories on the tipped wage in 2024, and it is pressing its advantage in 2025. Colorado marks a major victory for the industry, effectively conveying the importance of preserving the tip credit to policymakers in a blue trifecta state. Similarly, One Fair Wage finds itself on the defensive in Washington, DC rather than on the offensive in other jurisdictions as the District appears poised to pause the elimination of the tipped wage there. The politics have shifted so dramatically that the Washington Post Editorial Board wrote this week, “Eliminating the tipped wage has been a disaster.” The industry needs to take this moment of economic uncertainty to continue pressing its advantage.
Podcast
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