The US District of Columbia (Washington DC) is to raise the minimum wage to $15 (£11.42) an hour by 2020.
Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, signed the Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act 2016 into law on 27 June after the bill was unanimously passed by the DC Council on 21 June.
The minimum wage for employees in the US capital will increase in stages, starting at $11.50 (£8.75) as of 1 July 2016. In 2017, this will increase to $12.50 (£9.48) and in 2018 it will increase again to $13.25 (£10.09). The minimum wage will reach $14 (£10.66) in 2019 and $15 in 2020.
The minimum wage for employees who receive gratuities will gradually increase to $5 (£3.81) an hour by 2020.
US President Barack Obama said: “I commend the District of Columbia, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Council of the District of Columbia for raising the district’s minimum wage. Since my first call to raise the wage in 2013, 18 states and D.C. have taken action; action that will help over seven million American workers.
“In addition, nearly 50 cities and counties, as well as many of our leading businesses, have acted on their own to boost wages for thousands more workers. That’s progress. But we must continue to build on that progress, because no American working full time in this country should struggle to make ends meet.”
