NYC restaurant workers, diners hungry for new rule that would change how customers tip
NY Post
Tipped-off New York City diners are being asked to pay more and more gratuity — and now they say it’s time the owners of local eateries pay their share.
Restaurant workers and people out to eat on Manhattan’s Restaurant Row this week largely backed a plan to can New York’s existing “tip credit” system, which allows eateries pay wait staff less than minimum wage.
That stood in stark contrast to the owners themselves, who hate the idea and overwhelmingly oppose the possible change, according to a recent survey.
“It’s just the owners trying to be cheap,” bartender Tiffany Rosario, told The Post and brushed aside worries that a change could lead to layoffs.
“They just don’t want to have to pay us out of their own pockets,” Rosario said. “They won’t fire people, and if they do, they’ll just have to pay the staff they have to work more time. The only thing that will change is it will be a lot more fair for us.”
Under the current law,Big Apple restaurant employers can pay wait staff a base wage of $10.65 an hour if that wage — combined with their tips — equals or surpasses the minimum wage of $16.
