May 5, 2023

New Survey Shows Devastating Impacts of D.C.’s Tip Credit Elimination

This week, Washington, D.C. implemented its first of several tipped minimum wage hikes that will eliminate the city’s tip credit entirely by 2027. The May 1 increase raised the tipped minimum wage from $5.35 per hour to $6 per hour, but will increase again on July 1 to $8 per…
April 28, 2023

CA Data Debunks Unions’ Claim Against Franchisees

Last year, voters submitted over a million signatures to delay the implementation of AB 257, the FAST Recovery Act, when data showed the state’s fast food industry was being unfairly targeted. The bill sought to install an unelected regulatory council to set workplace standards such as hours and wages for…
New York April 21, 2023

New York’s War Against Its Tip Credit Is Hurting Restaurants

As New York has diminished its tip credit and raised regular and tipped minimum wages over the last several years, the state’s full-service restaurant industry, which employs the majority of tipped workers, has experienced declines in both annual employment and annual establishment growth. New York has the smallest tip…

New Data: High-Wage States Top the List of State Teen Unemployment Rates

Economists agree that major minimum wage hikes cost employees their jobs – especially for teens. The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows this happening in real time: states with the largest minimum wages in the nation are also experiencing the highest unemployment rates for workers aged 16…
Pennsylvania April 7, 2023

The Fight for $15 Is Still a Bad Idea for Pennsylvania

After newly-elected Governor Josh Shapiro raised the issue in his budget address, some are renewing efforts to enact a $15 minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Activists and lawmakers have tried to push the Fight for $15 for years in the Commonwealth, but have been blocked by concerns over…
Rhode Island March 31, 2023

Rhode Island’s Anti-Tip Credit Bills Ignore the Realities of the State’s Restaurants

This week, the Rhode Island House Labor Committee heard public testimony regarding various minimum wage hike proposals. Two of the bills up for consideration, H 5590 and H 5928, which both seek to eliminate Rhode Island’s tip credit and raise the hourly base wage for tipped restaurant workers by nearly…
March 24, 2023

$15 Wage States Are Already More than Doubling Inflation

As the debate over how high minimum wages should reach continues, eyes are on New York as progressive lawmakers push for a forty percent statutory increase to $20 per hour before tying the rate to inflation. Proponents of the bill argue that New York’s minimum wage has fallen behind inflation…
March 17, 2023

The Fight Against Tip Credit Elimination Across the Country

As state legislatures spring into action, several bills across the country are targeting tip credits that allow restaurant employers to count tips toward the regular minimum wage requirement. This is part of a larger campaign by union activists at Restaurant Opportunities Center-affiliated One Fair Wage – pledging a $25 million…
March 10, 2023

New Data: One Flat Wage States See Lower Tips

Proponents of eliminating state tip credits mislead workers and lawmakers by arguing that doing so won’t hurt their tips. New data from point-of-sale tech giant Toast tells a different story. Seven states, as well as the District of Columbia, have enacted no-tip credit laws, meaning restaurants and bars are…
Maryland March 3, 2023

Maryland’s Anti-Tip Credit Bill Is A “Bad Economic Deal” for Tipped Workers

This week, the Maryland Senate Finance Committee heard public testimony regarding SB 803, which would eliminate Maryland’s tip credit and raise the hourly base wage for tipped restaurant workers by over 300 percent. The hearing was filled with current restaurant employees and restaurant owners who explained how the bill…