As Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor Seth D. Harris stated in his Congressional testimony yesterday, minimum wage workers are increasingly struggling to support themselves and their families. The value of minimum wage has decreased by 30% since 1968, meaning that thousands of workers still live paycheck to paycheck, even when working full time. For those who earn a tipped minimum wage, according to Mr. Harris, “the wage their employers are required to pay them has not been raised since 1991 — that is 22 long years ago.” The Secretary of Labor is now calling for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00 una hora. Tipped minimum wages have similarly lost value over the decades, with the most significant recent drop in 2009 as a result of the recession. Democratic leaders in Congress and President Obama have called for increases in the tipped minimum wage and hope to pass legislation during the President’s final term in office.
Most restaurant workers are tipped minimum wage employees, es decir, que reciben más de $30.00 al mes en propinas. Ciudad de Nueva York, en particular, es conocido por su multitud de restaurantes, y hay más trabajadores de restaurantes per cápita que cualquier otra ciudad en el país. Brooklyn, con una vida nocturna y restaurante escena en desarrollo, ha visto una afluencia de trabajadores jóvenes restaurante en los últimos años.
Si usted es un servidor de NYC, barman, ayudante de camarero o bar vuelta, usted debe familiarizarse con las leyes de salario mínimo para evitar ser explotados por un empresario sin escrúpulos, que, en el sector de la restauración, en particular,, Es una práctica común. De particular importancia es aprender un crédito de propinas se aplica legalmente al salario mínimo punta ya que muchos empleadores lo hacen de forma ilegal, si están pagando un salario mínimo de punta en el primer lugar. Para los empleados que reciben propinas, an employer can apply a tip credit against the minimum wage rate. This tip credit cannot exceed $5.12 an hour and the employer must continue to pay the federal tipped minimum wage of at least $2.13 una hora. If you are not receiving this minimum wage, your employer must pay you full minimum wage. If your tips combined with your tipped minimum wage do not add up to the federal minimum wage, your employer must pay you the difference. These obligations under the tipped minimum wage must be put into writing and communicated to the employee before an employer can apply a tip credit.
If you are a New York City restaurant worker and are not receiving tipped minimum wage, or if you believe that your tip credit is being improperly implemented, contact a lawyer who has experience in wage and hour laws.
