Tipped workers stuck in Mad Men era policies

A new report released this week outlines the mistreatment of workers who rely on tips and calls for policy makers to eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, but in Maryland, legislators have effectively done just the opposite.

Tipped workers who earn the sub-minimum wage – just $3.63 an hour in Maryland – are more likely to be sexually harassed at work, according to a study published by the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC). Due to their dependence on tips because of the low sub-minimum wage, tipped workers are more likely to endure sexual harassment, rather than report problems.

Yet Maryland froze the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers last legislative session. Previously the sub-minimum wage was tied to the minimum wage and any increase in the minimum wage would result in an increase in the sub-minimum wage. While legislators voted to incrementally increase the state minimum wage to $10.10 over the next four years, they chose to keep the sub-minimum wage at its current rate.

We have previously reported on how tipped workers are more likely to live in poverty, and the evidence from the ROC report further highlights the disparaging treatment of tipped workers. Tipped workers’ face the difficult decision to either endure the sexual harassment for the tip or forgo the tip – a major part of their income – by reporting the incident. Although the worker is legally protected from sexual harassment, the report found that the consequences for reporting the incident could go beyond lost tips by costing the worker their shift, job, and economic security.

Workers shouldn’t have to choose between income and their safety. Maryland should take a stand to protect tipped workers and stop this behavior by raising or eliminating the sub-minimum wage. As President Obama stated at the State of the Union address “It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a Mad Men episode.”