That’s wild. If we go out for a meal (UK) we’ll just leave whatever change we have on the table or hand it to the waitress that served us, maybe 5 to 10 quid. If they try to make it a part of the payment, they’ll get nothing.
That’s because the UK has stronger wage protections than the US. Here the Federal minimum wage for “tipped positions,” which are their own special category, is only $2.13 per hour. The management literally expects you, the customer, to make up for their payroll shortfall.
Related fun fact: The reason the US (still) has such a tipping culture at all is, as usual, the result of post-slavery racism when business owners flat out refused to actually pay any of their newly freed black employees, and instead demanded their customers to do it for them. For those positions, tips were the only way those people got paid.
So yes, US business owners would absolutely force their employees to work for no pay if they could get away with it.
I live in a state where our servers make state minimum wage. 16+ dollars an hour. They still ask for tips. So the fed minimum doesn’t really change anything in making up the payroll shortfall.
In other words, if you tip someone under federal law, and that person works 40 hours per week, after 1 week, 40*5 = $200 were stolen from your tips by the employer from employee. As if the person earned $0 in tips, the $200 would have to be covered by the employer.
And in reality, the number of restaraunts which track tips and actually make up the $7.25 difference is functionally zero.
The management is explicitly operating under the assumption that they’ll weasel out of it anyhow with the expectation that you’ll pay it yourself on top of their already profitable menu price.
Semi-hijacking: delivery apps are notoriously good at finding legal loopholes and can very often pay sub minimum wage in places other than the US too. As a European, I try not to order food from them, but when I do, those are the only people I tip more than 10%/rounding up.
That’s wild. If we go out for a meal (UK) we’ll just leave whatever change we have on the table or hand it to the waitress that served us, maybe 5 to 10 quid. If they try to make it a part of the payment, they’ll get nothing.
That’s because the UK has stronger wage protections than the US. Here the Federal minimum wage for “tipped positions,” which are their own special category, is only $2.13 per hour. The management literally expects you, the customer, to make up for their payroll shortfall.
Related fun fact: The reason the US (still) has such a tipping culture at all is, as usual, the result of post-slavery racism when business owners flat out refused to actually pay any of their newly freed black employees, and instead demanded their customers to do it for them. For those positions, tips were the only way those people got paid.
So yes, US business owners would absolutely force their employees to work for no pay if they could get away with it.
I live in a state where our servers make state minimum wage. 16+ dollars an hour. They still ask for tips. So the fed minimum doesn’t really change anything in making up the payroll shortfall.
$2.13 is true and wrong.
The minimum wage plus tips is $7.25.
In other words, if you tip someone under federal law, and that person works 40 hours per week, after 1 week, 40*5 = $200 were stolen from your tips by the employer from employee. As if the person earned $0 in tips, the $200 would have to be covered by the employer.
And in reality, the number of restaraunts which track tips and actually make up the $7.25 difference is functionally zero.
The management is explicitly operating under the assumption that they’ll weasel out of it anyhow with the expectation that you’ll pay it yourself on top of their already profitable menu price.
My point wasn’t that wait staff is paid better than 2.15. my point is, they are getting robbed.
Ah, yes. I made a slight edit; we’re largely making the same point.
Semi-hijacking: delivery apps are notoriously good at finding legal loopholes and can very often pay sub minimum wage in places other than the US too. As a European, I try not to order food from them, but when I do, those are the only people I tip more than 10%/rounding up.