By Perry Stein
Washington Post, December 2, 2016
Glen’s Garden Market had a minimum-wage predicament. In July, the District’s hourly minimum wage increased to $11.50 — the same amount the upscale market was already paying its entry-level workers at two locations. The purveyor of high-end groceries and prepared foods no longer had an edge against other retailers in attracting high-quality, entry-level employees.
So owner Danielle Vogel boosted hourly wages by another dollar, to $12.50. ...
In 2014, the District passed legislation to incrementally raise the minimum wage from $8.25 to its current $11.50. In June, D.C. lawmakers voted to increase the minimum to $15 by 2020 ...
Glen’s isn’t the only small business in the District trying to stay above an increasing minimum wage. Public Option, a pub in the Northeast Brookland neighborhood, doesn’t accept tips and instead pays its employees $15 an hour. U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez has praised Gina Schaefer, the owner of Ace Hardware shops in the District, for paying employees more than the minimum wage. ...
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