(a) There is established a Living Wage Certification Program ("program") within the Department, which shall be administered by an organization selected in accordance with subsection (b) of this section ("administrator") and funded by a grant from the Department, that will certify employers that meet the requirements of the program established by this section and pursuant to this section.

(b) The Department shall:

(1) Select the administrator through the competitive bid process;

(2) Establish the criteria to be eligible for the grant and the selection as administrator; provided, that the administrator shall be a nonprofit organization located in the District;

(3) Issue a request for proposals no later than December 31, 2018; and

(4) Enter into a grant agreement with the bid awardee to serve as administrator in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(c)(1) Under the program, the administrator shall certify an employer that applies for certification and that shows, to the satisfaction of the administrator, that the employer:

(A) Pays its employees, including independent contractors, a living wage;

(B) Commits to paying its employees and independent contractors a living wage for the duration of the certification;

(C) Maintains its primary office in the District;

(D) Possesses a current license pursuant to Chapter 28 of Title 47; and

(E) Certifies that at least a majority of its owners are District residents or that at least a majority of its employees are District residents.

(2) The administrator shall develop criteria to verify that the employer meets each criterion set forth in this subsection.

(d)(1) Certification shall be valid for 3 years.

(2) To maintain certification and obtain recertification, a certified employer must demonstrate that it continues to meet the criteria set forth in subsection (c) of this section.

(3) A certified employer shall have 3 months to increase its employees' wages to match an increase in the living wage mandated under subchapter X-A of this chapter.

(e)(1) The administrator shall maintain a public list of all certified employers.

(2) The administrator shall create a unique logo to designate an employer as certified under this section and shall provide the employer with digital and physical copies of the logo for display and promotional purposes.

(f) The Department may consider combining the list maintained pursuant to subsection (e)(1) of this section with any similar list created under the Made in DC program, established in subchapter IV-B of Chapter 12 of this title.

(g) For the purposes of this section, the term "living wage" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-220.02(4).

(Oct. 20, 2005, D.C. Law 16-33, § 2315; as added Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 2182(b), 65 DCR 9388.)

For temporary (90 days) creation of § 2-218.16, see § 2(c) of Small and Certified Business Enterprise Development and Assistance Emergency Amendment Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-22, Mar. 27, 2019, 66 DCR 3991).

For temporary (90 days) creation of this section, see § 2182(b) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).

For temporary (90 days) creation of this section, see § 2182(b) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).

For temporary (225 days) creation of § 2-218.16, see § 2(c) of Small and Certified Business Enterprise Development and Assistance Temporary Amendment Act of 2019 (D.C. Law 23-7, June 4, 2019, 66 DCR 5250).