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A BILL 1
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25-56 3
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 5
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__________________________ 7
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To amend Title 25 of the District of Columbia Official Code to clarify that a licensed 10
establishment can only be held liable for injury and damages if it knowingly serves, sells, 11
or delivers an alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age or to a person that is 12
visibly exhibiting signs of intoxication and is the proximate cause of the individual’s 13
injury or damage, to limit civil action of third parties except for minors under 18 years of 14
age, and to create a new type of manager’s license endorsement; to amend Title 28 of the 15
District of Columbia Official Code to exclude service charges from sales for the purposes 16
of calculating rent pursuant to a commercial tenancy; to amend The Tipped Wage 17
Workers Fairness Amendment Act of 2018 to require a public education campaign 18
regarding the District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2022; to amend An Act 19
To provide for the payment and collection of wages in the District of Columbia to permit 20
online workplace training for managers; to amend the Fair Meals Delivery Act of 2022 to 21
modify the requirements of third-party meal delivery platforms and to require the Mayor 22
to study the working conditions of food delivery workers and submit a report on the study 23
to the Council no later than July 1, 2025. 24
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 26
act may be cited as the “Restaurant Revitalization and Dram Shop Clarification Amendment Act 27
of 2024”. 28
TITLE I. TITLE 25 AND TITLE 28 AMENDMENTS . 29
Sec. 101. Title 25 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as follows: 30
(a) Section 25-101 is amended by adding a new paragraph (26A) to read as follows: 31 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(26A) ‘Intoxicated’ means a condition in which a person has consumed enough 32
alcoholic beverages to visibly affect their manner, disposition, speech, muscular movement, or 33
general appearance of behavior.”. 34
(b) Section 25-113.01 is amended by adding a new subsection (h) to read as follows: 35
“(h)(1) A licensee under a manufacturer’s license class A, B, or C or a retailer’s license 36
class A, B, C/R D/R, C/H, D/H, C/T, D/T, C/N, D/N, C/X, D/X, C/B and D/B shall be permitted 37
to obtain a manager’s license endorsement from the Board to satisfy the requirements of § 25-38
701(a) and register up to 5 employees as Board-approved managers. 39
“(2)(A) The minimum annual cost for a manager’s license endorsement, including 40
the 5 employees authorized in paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall be $390. 41
“(B) The holder of a manager’s license endorsement shall be permitted to 42
add more than the 5 employees authorized in paragraph (1) of this subsection to the endorsement 43
at an additional annual cost of $130 for each employee position added to the endorsement over 44
the 5 employees authorized in paragraph (1) of this subsection. 45
“(3) The holder of a manager’s license endorsement shall be permitted to add or 46
replace managers on a form provided by ABCA.”. 47
(c) Chapter 7 is amended as follows: 48
(1) The table of contents for Subchapter IX is amended by adding a new section 49
designation 25-787 to read as follows: 50
Ҥ 25-787. Civil Liability for the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages to Minors and Intoxicated 51
Persons.”. 52 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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(2) Chapter 7 is amended by adding a new section 25-787 to read as follows: 53
Ҥ 25-787. Civil Liability for the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages to Minors and Intoxicated 54
Persons. 55
“(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, no licensee shall be civilly 56
liable to an injured person or the person’s estate for any injury to the individual or damage to any 57
property because of the intoxication of a person due to the sale, service, or delivery of an 58
alcoholic beverage to the person. 59
“(2)(A) An injured person shall have a civil cause of action against a licensee 60
when: 61
“(i) It is proven that the licensee knowingly sold, served or delivered an 62
alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age or to a person who was intoxicated; and 63
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“(ii) The sale, service, or delivery of the alcoholic beverage was the 65
proximate cause of the person’s injury or damage; provided, that the cause of action is 66
commenced within 2 years after such sale, service, or delivery. 67
“(B) For purposes of this subsection, the term “knowingly” means the licensee 68
knew or should have known a relevant fact. 69
“(b) Upon the death of any party, the right of action shall survive pursuant to § 12-101. 70
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“(c)The injured person, or the injured person’s legal representative, may commence a civil 72
action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against the licensee who sold, served, or 73
delivered the alcoholic beverage to the intoxicated person. 74
“(d) Evidence sufficient to establish that a person was intoxicated as described in 75
subsection (a) of this section shall be based upon the totality of the circumstances present at the 76
time of sale, service, or delivery of the alcoholic beverage to the person. 77
“(e) A licensee shall not be civilly liable for a person’s subsequent off-premises 78
consumption of alcoholic beverages unless the person was visibly intoxicated based upon the 79
totality of the circumstances at the time the alcoholic beverage was sold, served, or delivered to 80
the person by the licensee. 81
“(f) No civil action may be brought under this section by the person to whom the 82
alcoholic beverage was sold, served, or delivered who caused the injury at issue in the claim, or 83
by his or her estate, legal guardian, or dependent, unless the person to whom the alcoholic 84
beverage was sold, served, or delivered was under 18 years of age. 85
“(g) This section clarifies the standard of liability for injury or damages of a licensed 86
establishment for knowingly selling to, serving, or delivering an alcoholic beverage to a person 87
under 21 years of age or who is visibly intoxicated as defined in § 25-101(26A) and supersedes 88
the common law standard. To the extent that the common law standard of liability conflicts with 89
this section, this section controls. 90
“(h) This section shall apply only to causes of action that accrue after the effective date of 91
this section.”. 92 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Sec. 102. Part II of Article 2A of Subtitle I of Title 28 of the District of Columbia Official 93
Code is amended as follows: 94
(a) The table of contents for Part II is amended by adding a new section designation to read 95
as follows: 96
“§ 28:2A-222. Service Charge Exclusion.”. 97
(b) A new section is 2A-222 is added to read as follows: 98
§ 28:2A-222. Service Charge Exclusion. 99
“(a) Absent any language to the contrary in a lease for a commercial tenancy, service 100
charges shall not constitute sales for the purposes of calculating percentage or other rent for the 101
property leased. If there is any ambiguity in lease language concerning the inclusion of service 102
charges in calculating rent payable for commercial property leased, there shall be a presumption 103
that service fees are not to be included in the calculation. 104
“(b) For purposes of this section, the term “service charge” means any mandatory fee 105
paid as a percentage of the total cost of the food or beverages if the food or beverages are served 106
to fewer than 11 persons and the fee is used to pay base wages or tips of the employees of the 107
vendor.”. 108
TITLE II. WAGE LAW AMENDMENTS . 109
Sec. 201. The Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Amendment Act of 2018, effective 110
December 13, 2018 (D.C. Law 22-196; D.C. Official Code passim), is amended by adding a new 111
section 4a (to be codified at D.C. Official Code §32-163) to read as follows: 112 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“Sec. 4a. Public awareness campaign regarding the elimination of the tipped 113
minimum wage. 114
“(a) No later than 180 days after October 1, 2024, the Mayor shall launch a 115
campaign to raise awareness and educate the public about changes to the tipped minimum wage 116
brought about by the District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2022, effective 117
February 23, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-281; D.C. Official Code § 32-1003). 118
“(b) The campaign in subsection (a) shall: 119
“(1) Include the preparation of written and electronic materials that state in 120
plain language the changes brought about by the District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination 121
Act of 72 2022, effective February 23, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-281; D.C. Official Code § 32-1003); 122
“(2) Ensure that workers, residents, businesses, tourists, and other interested 123
parties are aware of the changes brought about by the District of Columbia Tip Credit 124
Elimination Act of 2022, effective February 23, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-281; D.C. Official Code § 125
32-1003), and what consumers and businesses can expect in terms of implementation and any 126
changes to existing practices and behaviors; and 127
“(3) Be conducted in English and any non-English language spoken by a 128
limited or no-English proficient population that constitutes 3% or 500 individuals, whichever is 129
less, of the population impacted, or expected to be impacted, of the changes brought about by the 130
District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2022, effective February 23, 2023 (D.C. Law 131
82 24-281; D.C. Official Code § 32-1003).”. 132 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Sec. 202. Section 6a(b) of An Act To provide for the payment and collection of wages, 133
effective December 13, 2018 (D.C. Law 22-196; D.C. Official Code § 32-1306.01(b)), is 134
amended by striking the phrase “attend in-person” and inserting the phrase “attend either in-135
person or online” in its place. 136
TITLE III. FAIR MEALS DELIVERY AMENDMENT . 137
Sec. 301. The Fair Meals Delivery Act of 2022, effective March 10, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-138
292; D.C. Official Code § 48-651 et seq.), is amended as follows: 139
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 48-651) is amended by adding a new paragraph (2A) 140
to read as follows: 141
“(2A) “Food delivery worker” means any natural person or any organization composed of 142
no more than one natural person, whether or not incorporated or employing a trade name, who is 143
hired, retained, or engaged as an independent contractor by a third-party meal delivery 144
platform.” 145
(b) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 48-652) is amended by adding new subsections (e), 146
(f), (g), and (h) to read as follows: 147
“(e) Any agreement that a third-party meal delivery platform enters into with a restaurant 148
must contain a provision allowing a food delivery worker to use the restroom facilities of the 149
restaurant when performing a delivery or pickup service at the restaurant. 150
“(f) A third-party meal delivery platform shall not exclude any restaurant with whom the 151
third-party meal delivery platform has an agreement from the relevant search results of a 152
customer within 4 miles of a restaurant. 153 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(g) A third-party meal delivery platform shall not reduce the delivery radius of any 154
restaurant below 4 miles, based on the level or percentage of commissions paid. Nothing in this 155
section shall prohibit a third-party meal delivery platform from offering a larger delivery radius 156
for a fee. 157
“(h) A third-party meal delivery platform shall not reduce the number of food delivery 158
workers available to deliver an online order from a restaurant with whom the third-party meal 159
delivery platform has an agreement based solely on the level or percentage of commission paid. 160
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a third-party meal delivery platform from offering priority 161
delivery services for a fee.”. 162
(c) A new section 4a is added to read as follows: 163
“Sec. 4a. Restaurant disclosure requirement. 164
“A third-party meal delivery platform shall disclose to a restaurant, in plain language, 165
the fees, commissions, and charges associated with the contracted services in the agreement.”. 166
(d) A new section 6a is added to read as follows as follows: 167
“Sec. 6a. Report by Mayor. 168
“(a) “The Mayor shall study the working conditions of food delivery workers and issue a 169
report to the Council no later than July 1, 2025. 170
“(b) In conducting the study, the Mayor may coordinate with any agency, organization, or 171
office that can assist in the study and shall consult with all relevant stakeholders, including 172
consumers of varying socioeconomic backgrounds, restaurants, and other merchants of varying 173
types and sizes, and third-party delivery platforms. 174 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(c) The Mayor may retain a third-party organization to assist in the study; provided, that 175
the organization has experience developing and administering studies, analyzing large data sets, 176
and conducting focus groups or other qualitative research. 177
“(d) The study shall include, at minimum: 178
“(1) Consideration of the pay food delivery workers receive and the methods 179
by which such pay is determined; 180
“(2) The total income food delivery workers earn, the expenses incurred by 181
the workers, the equipment required to perform their work, the hours of work of the workers, 182
including the variability in their hours; 183
“(3) The extent to which the workers are engaged in performing work for more 184
than one platform or other parties, the average mileage of a trip, the extent to which the workers 185
decline offers or assignments of a trip, the mode of travel used by the workers, the safety 186
conditions of the workers, including the frequency with which they have coverage for injuries, 187
the availability of bathrooms during working hours, the transparency of trip routes and pay; 188
“(4) The benefits the workers are able to access through this type of work or 189
from other sources; 190
“(5) The desirability to the workers of the creation of a system of benefits that 191
would be portable across third-party delivery or other freelance work platforms (commonly 192
known “gig economy” platforms); 193
“(6) The reasons these workers choose food delivery work over other types of 194
work; and 195 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(7) Other topics the Mayor considers necessary or appropriate. 196
“(e) The study shall sample a sufficient number of food delivery workers to ensure the 197
results are statistically reliable, and samples shall be representative of the food delivery workers 198
who deliver in the District, with a particular focus on food delivery workers who live in the 199
District. 200
“(f) The Mayor may request or issue subpoenas for the production of data, 201
documents, and other information from a third-party delivery platform or other party, relating to 202
food delivery workers, including: 203
“(1) Worker identification; 204
“(2) Information about the times that the workers are available to work for a 205
third-party delivery platform; 206
“(3) The predominant mode of transportation; 207
“(4) How trips are offered or assigned to food delivery workers; 208
“(5) The data the third-party delivery platforms generally maintain relating to 209
the trips of the workers; 210
“(6) The compensation the workers receive from a third-party delivery platform, 211
including any gratuities the workers may receive; 212
“(7) Information relating to both completed and cancelled trips; 213
“(8) Agreements with or policies covering the workers; 214
“(9) The contact information of the workers; 215 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(10) Information relating to the setting of fees paid by food service 216
establishments and consumers; and 217
“(11) Any other information considered relevant by the Mayor.”. 218
TITLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS 219
Sec. 401. Applicability. 220
(a) Section 201 and section 301(d) shall apply upon the date of inclusion of its fiscal 221
effect in an approved budget and financial plan. 222
(b) The Chief Financial Officer shall certify the date of the inclusion of the fiscal effect in 223
an approved budget and financial plan, and provide notice to the Budget Director of the Council 224
of the certification. 225
(c)(1) The Budget Director shall cause the notice of the certification to be published in 226
the District of Columbia Register. 227
(2) The date of publication of the notice of the certification shall not affect the 228
applicability of this act. 229
Sec. 402. Fiscal impact statement. 230
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 231
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 232
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 233
Sec. 403. Effective date. 234
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 235
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 236 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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provided in 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 237
(87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia 238
Register. 239