Why are low-wage workers in the restaurant industry the most vulnerable?
In other words, the restaurant industry experiences one of the highest incidences of wage theft — and its low-wage workers are the most vulnerable.
How has the minimum wage impacted restaurants?
Upserve conducted a minimum wage survey to determine the minimum wage impact on restaurants. Slightly over 36% of our respondents said the minimum wage has risen in their state of employment in the last six months. And only two respondents working in a state with a minimum wage increase selected that they do not receive tips in their position.
Are managers in the restaurant industry less likely to be poor?
Managers in the restaurant industry are the least likely to be poor or near-poor, with 22.2 percent living below twice the poverty line, which is still higher than the 19.9 percent twice-poverty rate outside the restaurant industry. More than 50 percent of dishwashers, food preparation workers, and cooks live below twice the poverty line.
Why are women paid less in the restaurant industry than men?
What this shows is that women’s lower wages within the restaurant industry are not just due to the fact that they are in different occupations than men, as they make less within occupations. We see similar dynamics when looking by race/ethnicity, education, and age.
What is restaurant labor law?
Restaurant labor laws are designed to safeguard the rights of food service industry workers. As a manager, it’s your duty to enforce and comply with both federal and state regulations to protect your people (and, let’s be honest, yourself).
How much is the minimum wage in Minneapolis?
However, in St. Paul and in Minneapolis, a $15 per hour citywide minimum wage was approved, and will be phased in over the next few years.
Do tipped workers get a raise?
Many restaurants might look at surcharges, or raising the hourly wage while dropping tips. But in our survey, tipped workers said they wouldn’t accept a substantial increase in ...
Who is Ginger Jentzen?
Ginger Jentzen, a former server who became the executive director of 15 Now Minnesota, an organization advocating for raising Minnesota’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, believes the wage should increase regardless of whether the position receives tips or not.
Is the minimum wage all at once?
What most people don’t understand when a state or city raises the minimum wage is that it’s not all at once. In California, for example, the minimum wage increase is being rolled out in phases. So when the first phase occurred, the family behind Zov’s Restaurant cast a wide net to make up the increase in overhead.
Why do restaurants fail to compensate workers?
Put bluntly, restaurants fail to compensate workers fairly simply because they can, and because so many get away with it. This occurs, in part, because there are so few resources devoted to enforcing laws already in place to combat wage theft.
Why are tipped workers at risk?
This complication means tipped workers are especially at risk for wage theft. Allowing employers to manage differential payments leaves plenty of room for error, and a rampant disregard for follow-through on paying out earned wages.
What is wage theft?
In broad terms, wage theft is the non-payment or underpayment of employees for hours worked, whether intentional or not. It can include any of the following: Employers paying out less than the minimum wage.
How much do you get paid for tipping?
Federal law stipulates that employers can pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 an hour (an amount unchanged since 1991), so long as their tips bring them up to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25. This complication means tipped workers are especially at risk for wage theft.
What does it mean when an employee miscalculates their hours?
Miscalculation, whether intentional or not, sometimes means employees aren’t paid for their work. In some cases, tip pooling and strict overtime laws can set employees up to work more hours than they will get paid for.
How many states have eliminated the two tiered payment structure?
Seven states have eliminated the two-tiered payment structure, providing a flat minimum wage for both tipped and non-tipped workers. In those states, research indicates workers experience higher median wages and, in some cities, higher tips.
Can management pay for non-tipped work?
In others, management may pay workers a tipped wage for non-tipped work, like rolling silverware or polishing glassware. Or, in the most obvious and egregious example, they could skim workers’ tips and keep a portion for themselves or the restaurant.
Why do people leave food service?
Low wages are the most common reason people cite for leaving food service work. But in one recent survey, more than half of hospitality workers who've quit said no amount of pay would get them to return. That's because for many, leaving food service had a lot to do also with its high-stress culture: exhausting work, unreliable hours, ...
How much does McDonald's pay an hour?
Major chains have been trumpeting higher wages: Chipotle, Olive Garden, White Castle, even McDonald's, which is now promising entry-level pay between $11 and $17 an hour. Employers are paying people just to show up for interviews, adding signing bonuses and recruiting ever-younger workers on TikTok.
What happens if you can't pay well?
If you can't pay well, "then you can't afford to be in business". Food service jobs have been "plagued with low wages for an extraordinary long period of time," said Jeannette Wicks-Lim, labor economist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
How does labor shortage affect restaurants?
Though the effects of a labor shortage will differ depending on your markets and restaurant type, here are some ways the current restaurant industry labor shortage could affect your operations. 1. Guests might have to wait, and you might have to reduce your opening hours. With fewer front-of-house staff available to serve guests ...
Why are restaurant employees leaving the industry?
And now, although the industry is recovering, many restaurant employees have left the industry for good. Low wages, no benefits, no room for growth, and industry instability have long contributed to the industry’s high turnover rates.
What does it mean when there are fewer cooks in the back of the house?
In back of house, fewer cooks on the line mean longer wait times for orders to be fulfilled. This will affect table turn times in front of house, making you unable to accommodate the same amount of checks in a night as before, ultimately costing you money.
How to stay above water in a labor shortage?
Here are some tactics to help you stay above water in the face of a labor shortage. 1. Double down on staff retention. Your existing restaurant staff are never more valuable than when you’re in the middle of a labor shortage.
Why is it so hard to recruit new employees?
Recruiting new employees is a difficult task because the restaurant industry has earned a poor reputation for workplace quality. It's famous for high-stress shifts in hot kitchens, with few employee benefits and often low wages.