Bill would increase the tipped minimum wage to $15 an hour for restaurant servers
Maryland state lawmakers are considering a bill to put more money in the pockets of restaurant workers. House Bill 803 would give restaurant servers a base hourly wage of $15, plus tips. District 28. It’s the crowd that makes a good payday for servers at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis, who make $3.63 an hour plus tips “I’d like to. Absolutely, it would be a nice change for us,” said Aneesah Pack, a server. “It would make my life very, very easy. If I knew I was going to make that much,” said Jeanette Doffernyre, a server.The bill also requires businesses to complete equity training and certify that it does not include the current tip amount as part of the employees’ salary. Tips are the difference between the current minimum wage and the hourly base of $3.63 that the employer is required to pay. Business owners oppose the bill, and not all servers are in favor, either out of fear of making less money or losing their jobs. Some servers said they worry people will tip less if their base salary increases. “If that happens, I’ll go back to serving,” said Shelly McFaddyen, a restaurant manager. Some economists view the proposal as a job killer that would limit tipping and force restaurants to close. A study by the University of California-Irvine found that every dollar increase in the tipped minimum wage will cut jobs by 6%. The study shows that workers’ earnings will drop by 5.6% and that tipped households will lose $8,000 a year. STUDIES: A Survey of American Economists on a $15 Federal Minimum Wage (Carnegie Mellon) The Case for the Tipping Credit (Employment Policies Institute) State The Effects of a $15 Minimum Wage with Tipping (Miami and Trinity Universities) “If the bill were to pass, think I, it would have a massive impact on the prices of everything we have to sell to our consumers,” said Rusty Romo, owner and general manager of Harry Browne’s Restaurant in Annapolis. “Our tipped employees here, at least at our restaurant, make really good money, and I don’t think — other than what it would do to the prices on the table, what our customers would experience — it’s a bad bill.” According to a bill analysis, it would initially cost taxpayers more than $264,000 to create an office to monitor compliance, staff it and develop regulations. There is also talk of rolling the bill into the governor’s minimum wage legislation. But legislative leaders said that’s unlikely because there’s still a lot of work to be done on the governor’s proposal. | VIDEO BELOW: Moore on Minimum Wage: ‘Maryland Families Will Fall Further Behind’ Without Increase
House Bill 803 would give restaurant servers a base hourly wage of $15 plus tips.
“We want to make sure that people are always getting a wage where they can at least pay their rent,” said the bill’s sponsor, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Arthur Carr Ellis, D-District 28.
That’s the volume that determines good pay for servers at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis, who earn $3.63 an hour plus tips.
“I would like to. Absolutely, it would be a nice change for us,” said Aneesah Pack, a server.
“It would make my life very, very easy. If I knew I was going to make this much,” said Jeanette Doffernyre, a server.
According to the bill, companies must also complete equity training and certify that it does not include the current tip credit amount as part of the employee’s salary. The tip credit is the difference between the current minimum wage and the hourly rate of $3.63 that the employer is required to pay.
Business owners oppose the bill, and not all servers are in favor, either out of fear of making less money or losing their jobs. Some servers said they worry people will tip less if their base salary increases.
“If that happens, I’ll go back to serving,” said Shelly McFaddyen, a restaurant manager.
Some economists view the proposal as a job killer that would limit tipping and force restaurants to close. A study by the University of California-Irvine found that every dollar increase in the tipped minimum wage will cut jobs by 6%. The study shows that workers’ earnings will fall by 5.6% and households with the tip will lose $8,000 a year.
STUDIES:
“If that bill were to pass, I think it would have a massive impact on prices, on everything that we have to sell to our consumers,” said Rusty Romo, owner and general manager of Harry Browne’s Restaurant in Annapolis. “Our tipped employees here, at least at our restaurant, make really good money, and I don’t think — other than what it would do to the prices on the table, what our customers would experience — it’s a bad bill.”
According to a bill analysis, it would initially cost taxpayers more than $264,000 to create an office to monitor compliance, staff it and develop regulations.
There is also talk of rolling the bill into the governor’s minimum wage legislation. But legislative leaders said that’s unlikely because there’s still a lot of work to be done on the governor’s proposal.
| VIDEO BELOW: Moore on minimum wage: ‘Maryland families will fall further behind’ without increase