New hiring laws in Washington, DC for 2027: the $18.40 minimum wage, the tipped wage at 56%, the non-compete pay threshold and what employers do next

As of November 2026, the District of Columbia's hiring changes for 2026 and 2027 are mostly about pay. The minimum wage rose to $18.40 an hour on July 1, 2026, and the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act reset the tipped minimum wage as a share of the full rate: 56%, or $10.30, from July 1, 2026, rising to 60% on July 1, 2028. The non-compete ban's pay threshold rose to $162,164 ($270,274 for medical specialists) on January 1, 2026, and since that date every pay statement must list sources of pay beyond base wages and tips. The Council also let youth services providers run their own background checks (D.C. Law 26-160, August 14, 2026) and opened a bachelor's-plus-experience route to a CPA license (D.C. Law 26-183, September 25, 2026).

DC's pay range, salary history and fair criminal record screening rules did not change in 2026. Each item below links to the law in the D.C. Law Library or to the Department of Employment Services (DOES) notice that sets the figure. The standing checklist (pay ranges and the health benefits disclosure, the conditional offer rule for records, the credit check ban, the D-4 and new-hire reports) is in our DC hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which DC hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

District laws, DOES figures and the federal rules that apply to District employers, sorted by date.

What is the DC minimum wage and tipped wage from July 1, 2026?

The DOES public notice says that "beginning July 1, 2026, the minimum wage in the District of Columbia will increase from $17.95 per hour to $18.40 per hour for all workers, regardless of size of employer," and that the base wage for tipped employees rises from $10.00 to $10.30, with the employer paying the difference if weekly-averaged tips do not reach the full minimum. DOES's living wage notice sets the rate for District contractors and assistance recipients at $18.40 from the same date.

The tipped figure comes from a new formula. The "Tipped Minimum Wage Timeline Amendment Act of 2025," subtitle W of the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act (D.C. Law 26-55, effective December 6, 2025), repealed paragraph (6) of the old schedule and wrote a percentage schedule into D.C. Code 32-1003(f): "as of July 1, 2026, the tipped minimum wage shall be 56% of the minimum wage," then 60% on July 1, 2028, 65% in 2030, 70% in 2032 and 75% in 2034. Under subsection (i) the schedule does not apply to District government employees or to employees working on District contracts, who stay under the earlier rules.

For hiring, the notice every DC employer must give at hire under section 32-1008(c) has to state the rate of pay and any tip allowance claimed, along with the tip-sharing policy, so offer letters and notices for servers and bartenders need the $10.30 base and the employer's top-up promise. Employers other than hotels that pay a tipped wage must still run payroll through a third-party payroll business under section 32-1008(a-1).

What must DC pay statements show since January 1, 2026?

More detail on variable pay. The same act added paragraph (6A) to D.C. Code 32-1008(b): "beginning on January 1, 2026, a list of sources of the employee's compensation in addition to base wages and gratuities, including bonuses, commissions on sales, any amount calculated as a percentage of service charges, or other sources." It sits in the list of what the itemized statement must show "at the time of payment of wages." Ask your payroll provider to label each pay type separately, and make sure offer letters describe the same pay elements the stub will show, since a mismatch is the first thing a wage claim tests.

Who can sign a DC non-compete in 2026?

Only employees above the indexed threshold. The DOES 2026 notice says: "As of January 1, 2026, the restriction on non-compete clauses applies to employees earning less than $162,164 and to medical specialists earning less than $270,274." Above those amounts, a written agreement must set the functional and geographic scope, run no more than 365 days (730 for medical specialists) and be given at least 14 days before employment starts. When recruiting a DC candidate who signed one, check the pay figure first, because the District bans the clause for anyone below the threshold. The full test and notice text are in DC non-compete law.

What changed for background checks and licensed roles in DC?

• Youth services providers. D.C. Law 26-160, the Background Check Adjustments Amendment Act of 2026, effective August 14, 2026, lets the Mayor authorize a non-governmental covered youth services provider to perform the checks the Criminal Background Checks for the Protection of Children Act requires for its applicants, employees and volunteers, sending the records to the Mayor. A person may also consent to release of their records to satisfy another jurisdiction's check.
• Rap Back for District agencies. Subtitle E of D.C. Law 26-55 makes the Metropolitan Police Department the District's channel to the FBI Rap Back Service, so participating District agencies can be notified of a later arrest of a person they screened for care, security or licensing roles.
• CPAs. D.C. Law 26-183, effective September 25, 2026, lets an applicant qualify with a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration, two years of relevant experience and the examination, or a graduate degree and one year, and revises practice privileges for CPAs licensed elsewhere.
• Glaziers. D.C. Law 26-182, effective September 25, 2026, creates licenses for glaziers and glazing contractors; the Mayor must issue the implementing rules within a year, so watch for the date licenses become required on job sites.
• Early childhood teachers. D.C. Law 26-100 set the minimum salaries that child development facilities in the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Program must pay from January 1 through September 30, 2026, from $48,736 for an assistant teacher with a CDA to $71,010 for a lead teacher with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. Check the program's current guidance before quoting salaries in offers made after September 2026.

What did not change in DC?

• Pay ranges and pay history. Postings still need a pay range and the health benefits disclosure, and pay history questions are still banned; see DC pay transparency and DC's wage history ban.
• Criminal history. The Fair Criminal Record Screening Act still bars the question until a conditional offer, and its own factors and notice steps stand; see DC ban-the-box and DC background check rules. With the EEOC guidance rescinded, a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case is still a sound federal backstop.
• E-Verify is still not required by District law; see E-Verify requirements in DC. The FAR clause, FAR 52.222-54, still binds covered federal contractors.
• Drug testing and recording. See DC drug testing laws and DC recording consent for interviews; many candidates sit in all-party Maryland.

What should DC employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Confirm every rate in offers and job ads uses $18.40, or the $10.30 tipped base with the top-up, and reissue the notice at hire to tipped staff whose rate changed.
2. Check pay stubs list bonuses, commissions and service charge shares as separate sources.
3. Reprice non-compete templates against $162,164 and $270,274, and diary the January 2027 adjustment.
4. Youth services providers: ask the District agency that oversees your program whether you can be authorized to run your own checks under D.C. Law 26-160.
5. Check Form I-9 versions and EAD reverification dates; see Form I-9 reverification.
6. Remove references to the 2012 EEOC guidance from screening policies, keeping the District's own fair chance steps.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in DC?

Bill rates for minimum wage and tipped assignments need the July 2026 figures, and an agency that pays hospitality temps a tipped wage carries the top-up and the third-party payroll rule. Non-competes with temporary workers paid below the threshold are banned. Agencies placing staff into youth programs should confirm who runs the background check under the new authorization. DC still licenses employment agencies and some recruiters; see our DC staffing agency guide and employer of record in DC. Other states' 2027 changes, for staff placed in Maryland or Virginia, are in new hiring laws for 2027.