On July 24, the federal minimum wage increased from $6.50 per hour to $7.25. Despite this raise, the federal minimum wage for tipped workers stands still at $2.13 per hour – and has since 1991.
Nebraska’s tipped minimum wage mirrors the federal rate of $2.13 per hour. Employers can pay this wage to people who work in generally-tipped service positions such as serving or bartending; however, the amount earned in tips must equal or exceed minimum wage. If not, the employer must pay the difference.
“The idea behind the tipped minimum wage is that people earning tips would actually be making more than minimum wage, so $2.13 plus tips is supposed to average out,” said Becky Gould, executive director of the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.
“Part of the reason to try to help people make more than minimum wage is that it takes more than that to make ends meet,” she said.
Katina Talley, a sophomore agricultural sciences and natural resources major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, works as a server at the country club in Friend, Neb. earning $3.25 per hour. Her duties include making coffee, filling ice coolers, sweeping and vacuuming the dining room and bar area, wiping down counters and tables, washing windows, keeping bathrooms in order, setting tables, rolling silverware, bussing tables and, of course, taking orders.
Talley’s shift starts at 5 p.m. and, depending on how busy the country club gets, can end any time from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Also, not all customers adhere to the 15 percent rule when tipping, she said in an e-mail.
“I don’t mind the work at all,” Talley said. “In fact, I enjoy it for the most part. However, I often feel under appreciated by both customers and the kitchen staff. Most of the girls I work with feel the same. Waitresses take a lot of smack for a measly $3 an hour.”
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, restaurants employ nearly 2.9 million workers in jobs classified as tipped position. Also, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey found that women make up 62 percent of tipped workers.
Jan Deeds, associate director of Student Involvement and director of the Women’s Center at UNL, said the tipped minimum wage isn’t usually recognized as a women’s issue.
However, the Census Bureau also found that 72 percent of servers are women, and a recent report from the National Employment Law Project states the poverty rate among servers is three times higher than the overall workforce.
“We have a lot of conversation on what our economy is based on right now,” Deeds said. “Is our economy really functioning at its best when we don’t pay women enough money?
Is that the backbone of our economy? I hope not. It’s time to have this discussion. How can we make this fair?”
Beyond employers choosing to pay higher wages, Gould said, many changes can be made through public policy to raise the tipped minimum wage.
“States have the option of setting their own wages, both tipped and un-tipped,” Gould said.
“We generally like to tie wage increases to inflation, so with the tipped wage you’ve got 18 years without adjustment. States could set requirements to have annual adjustments for inflation.”
One major concern with raising the tipped minimum wages includes the effect it would have on small businesses.
“I think there is sort of a misconception that increasing wages means bad things for an economy or businesses,” Gould said. “When, in fact, it can be opposite. You have to factor in turnover costs if employees don’t stay and the work quality of workers not happy in those positions.”
Both Deeds and Gould are hoping for a policy change in the tipped minimum wage. However, the kind of change left on a table would also be helpful.
“Just please, always, always tip your servers,” Deeds said.
courtneypitts@dailynebraskan.com
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