Nebraska, Nevada and D.C. OK Minimum Wage Changes

Author: Michael Cardman, HR & Compliance Center Senior Legal Editor

November 9, 2022

Minimum wage ballot initiatives are expected to succeed in Nebraska, Nevada and Washington, D.C..

Although election results had not been certified by local officials as of the time of publication, all three measures held commanding leads in unofficial results and were projected to prevail by reliable third parties.

Results were mixed in other, smaller localities.

Nebraska

In Nebraska, Initiative Measure 433 is expected to increase the state minimum wage from its current rate of $9.00 to:

  • $10.50, effective January 1, 2023;
  • $12.00, effective January 1, 2024;
  • $13.50, effective January 1, 2025; and
  • $15.00, effective January 1, 2026.

Starting January 1, 2027, the minimum wage will be adjusted for inflation every year, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Midwest Region.

Nevada

In Nevada, Ballot Question 2 is expected to:

  • Repeal a provision in the state constitution allowing employers that provide certain health benefits to pay a minimum wage a dollar lower than those that do not;
  • Establish a minimum wage of $12.00 per hour for all employers, effective July 1, 2024; and
  • Expressly give the state legislature the authority to make future increases.

Question 2 also would repeal the state's unusual method of annually adjusting the minimum wage for inflation, under which changes are based on the cumulative change between 2004 and the previous year, but may not be greater than 3 percent or the cumulative increase in the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour in 2004 to present ($7.25 per hour). Under this method, Nevada has not adjusted its minimum wage since 2009 and, because of the scheduled statutory increases, is unlikely to do so before 2025.

Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., Initiative 82, also known as the "District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2021," is expected to gradually eliminate the district's minimum wage tip credit by 2027.

Employers would have to pay tipped employees a minimum direct cash wage of:

  • $6.00, effective January 1, 2023;
  • $8.00, effective July 1, 2023;
  • $10.00, effective July 1, 2024;
  • $12.00, effective July 1, 2025;
  • $14.00, effective July 1, 2026; and
  • The minimum wage for non-tipped employees, effective July 1, 2027 (meaning the tip credit is effectively eliminated).

Other Localities

Voters also had their say on minimum wage ballot initiatives in several other localities, including the following:

  • Tukwila, Washington: Initiative Measure No. 1, which will require certain employers to pay employees the same minimum wage as in neighboring SeaTac, passed 82-17 according to unofficial results.
  • Portland, Maine: Question D, which would have increased the minimum wage to $18.00 over the next three years and eliminated the tip credit, was defeated 61-39 according to unofficial results.
  • Laguna Beach, California: Measure S, which would have established an $18 hourly minimum wage for hotel employees and workplace standards for hotel employees, was projected to be defeated.
  • Inglewood, California: Measure HC, which would establish a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers effective January 1, 2024, was ahead in the early returns.
  • Duarte, California: Measure J, which also would have established a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers effective January 1, 2024, was far behind in early returns.