MassBudget: Steep Decline in Employer Share of Tipped Workers' Wages

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. The Steep Decline in the Employer Share of Tipped Workers' Wages Tipped workers are among those who have a better opportunity to provide for themselves and their families when the minimum wage is increased. But the minimum wage works differently for these workers, as you can read in the new MassBudget Facts At A Glance "The Steep Decline in the Employer Share of Tipped Workers' Wages." Many of us may assume that tipped workers are paid at least the $8 an hour minimum wage by their employers, and that our tips are on top of that. That's not the case. In Massachusetts, tipped workers can be paid as little as $2.63 an hour by their employer, as long as tips get them to the minimum wage rate. That means that the employer can pay as little as 33% of the minimum wage. It hasn't always been that way. Until the early 1990s, employers in Massachusetts were required to pay tipped workers 60% of the minimum wage. In eight other states employers are required to pay the full minimum wage. In those states poverty among tipped workers is lower and job growth is just as good.   MassBudget's new fact sheet "The Steep Decline in the Employer Share of Tipped Workers' Wages" describes the history of the tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts and examines several proposals to reform it. Read THE PAPER The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

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