Via Shutterstock

Via Shutterstock

The D.C. Board of Elections has approved language for a ballot initiative that would raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Over the objections of business groups, the board ruled that the initiative can legally be on the ballot, WAMU reported.

Activists now have to gather more than 20,000 signatures to secure a vote. In a city with a well-documented affordable housing problem, they are likely to find enough supporters to get it on the ballot.

Under current law, D.C.’s minimum wage, which just went up to $10.50, will go up to $11.50 in 2016 and be indexed to inflation each year thereafter. But under the proposed ballot initiative, it would continue rising according to a set schedule: $12.50 in 2017, $13.25 in 2018, $14 in 2019, and $15 in 2020. The initiative would also raise the minimum for tipped workers to $15 by 2024.

Efforts to push for a $15 minimum wage have seen several successes across the country, with ordinances passed in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. New York is widely expected to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour for fast-food workers.