A new survey found that tipped restaurant employees in states around the country overwhelmingly prefer saving the tip credit, over higher flat wage alternatives.
The survey was conducted by CorCom, Inc. of nearly 4,000 tipped employees in states facing tip credit elimination threats this year. These states included Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Maryland. The responses were overwhelmingly in support of the current tip credit system, compared to a higher hourly base wage with a less certain outcome on tips.
Key findings included:
- Ninety percent of tipped employees prefer the current tip credit system over other higher flat wage models.
- Eighty-seven percent of tipped employees fear their earnings would drop if employers were required to pay a full minimum wage.
Dr. Lloyd Corder, an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University and founder of CorCom, Inc., described the findings to Restaurant Business:
“The survey data is crystal clear: Tipped employees overwhelmingly prefer the current tip credit payment system, and they don’t want it to change. It’s rare to find an issue that commands such widespread support across diverse age, race, gender and geographic groups.”