More people are recognizing that women comprise the majority of minimum-wage workers and, therefore, stand to benefit the most from a minimum wage increase. A less recognized women’s issue is the rampant sexual harassment—in addition to the poverty—that so many female ‘tipped employees’ face. These tippled employees include, most notably, restaurant workers, who are most disproportionately women.
Restaurant workers have a federal sub-minimum wage of merely $2.13 per hour—a rate that has not changed in 24 years!. When tips are not high enough to balance out the hourly rate to the minimum wage, employers are required by law to make up the difference. However, this law is very difficult to enforce for a simple reason. Employers are unlikely to be reported if they are not actually making up the difference, because wait staff are unlikely to report misbehavior. Often, wait staff do not know the route to report the wrongdoing; more often, though, there is a high risk of losing the job or facing repercutions if the wait staff takes step to report poor record-keeping and a lack of compensation.
The result is dire, yet unsurprising. Wait staff at restaurants face an enormously high level of sexual harassment. Last year, a report from Restaurant Opportunities Centers United estimated that 90% of women have reported being bothered by customer harassment[1]. This is not surprising, as women who depend on tips to even make the bare minimum wage are placed in an an extremely weak and desperate position relative to customers. The study also showed that women in these positions are most likely to be told by managers to sexualize their behavior and/or appearance at work.
This report publishes these estimates based on collected data, but one only needs simple logic and a basic understanding of the work structure at such jobs to predict these results. When the customer decides whether a restaurant worker will make even enough to pay for gas to drive to work or for diapers or baby food on a single day, the power dynamic becomes extremely imbalanced and dangerous.
There are some clear solutions to this problem. To start, the sub-minimum wage should not exist. Tipped workers need to be paid the minimum wage. Many states already require employers to pay wait staff the state minimum wage directly. This requirement reduces the desperate need by wait staff to get tips from customers. Anyone who is concerned that wait staff will lose the incentive to treat the customer well needs only to consider how low the minimum wage currently is compared to the price of food, gas, or any other essential purchase. A restaurant worker who is paid minimum wage still has a lot to gain from each customer’s tips. The restaurant business is the second-largest growing industry, and paying workers a minimum wage will not cause a crippling blow. Some states even require different minimum wage payments depending on the size of the business, which enables small, independent restaurants to complete with larger chains[2].
In the meantime, regardless of whether a waiter or waitress is particularly friendly, still leave a tip! The best way to improve service, though, is to ensure a living wage without requiring a person to subject him or herself to sexual harassment and other abuses.
[1] The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, “The Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Food Industry”, http://rocunited.org/the-glass-floor-sexual-harassment-in-the-restaurant-industry/ October 7, 2014.
[2] U.S. Dept. of Labor: Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees. http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm January 1st, 2015.