3 ms·

I had a service industry job in texas that payed me around 2.50 an hour (iirc) and as long as I made enough in tips to cover minimum wage they didn't have to pa

I had a service industry job in texas that payed me around 2.50 an hour (iirc) and as long as I made enough in tips to cover minimum wage they didn't have to pay actual minimum wage. It's immoral as fuck to steal tips. I don't care if it's legal. If I'm a customer tipping the person a certain amount I want to make sure it's actually helping that person and not just lining the pockets of their employer, that's absurd.

Zimahl 8y ago
That might be legal in Texas, but in Washington it's explicitly illegal. In the state, tips are completely irrelevant to base pay, all employees must get paid at least minimum wage as base pay. Instacart is going to get fucked very quickly by the Washington AG. This is as bad as Walmart not paying employees for overtime.
- pnathan 8y ago
  The WA AG is a bit on the antsy activist side too: this is like a great poster case for the anti-gig-worker advocates. in any case, this is really awful for the poor drivers. I had no idea.
- jacurtis 8y ago
  Especially because Washington's Attorney General is particularly fond of jumping on cases like this, particularly worker rights. But he is also fond of keeping startups in line. So this is a double-whammy case for him.
  - nerpderp83 8y ago
    I'd love to see someone at Instacsrt jailed for wage theft. They should have to pay back "the winnings" by 3x and fire the people involved.
- lightedman 8y ago
  Tip taking is also illegal by CA laws. Instacart is about to really get nailed.
jandrese 8y ago
This always seemed crazy to me. Basically the employer pays only a pittance and then stops paying until your tips exceed minimum wage. They're basically stealing the tips between $2.50 and whatever the minimum wage is in your area.
- lowercased 8y ago
  tipping encoded in to law in general seems crazy to me. many (most?) other countries don't have this ritual, and seem to do just fine. I've dined out in many other countries outside the US, and service is generally good regardless of whether tipping is involved/expected or not. And in the US, I don't feel my normal service is all that much better because someone is thinking I might tip an extra dollar or two on an $8 lunch.
  - neuralRiot 8y ago
    I even feel it's the other way around, in other countries the tip is usually the change, like $8 meal, just leave a $10 bill and leave, staff is either happy or neutral, in the US if you don't leave enough you get nasty looks as you exit even if the service was unremarkable.

Zimahl 8y ago

That might be legal in Texas, but in Washington it's explicitly illegal. In the state, tips are completely irrelevant to base pay, all employees must get paid at least minimum wage as base pay. Instacart is going to get fucked very quickly by the Washington AG. This is as bad as Walmart not paying employees for overtime.

pnathan 8y ago
The WA AG is a bit on the antsy activist side too: this is like a great poster case for the anti-gig-worker advocates. in any case, this is really awful for the poor drivers. I had no idea.
jacurtis 8y ago
Especially because Washington's Attorney General is particularly fond of jumping on cases like this, particularly worker rights. But he is also fond of keeping startups in line. So this is a double-whammy case for him.
- nerpderp83 8y ago
  I'd love to see someone at Instacsrt jailed for wage theft. They should have to pay back "the winnings" by 3x and fire the people involved.
lightedman 8y ago
Tip taking is also illegal by CA laws. Instacart is about to really get nailed.

jandrese 8y ago

This always seemed crazy to me. Basically the employer pays only a pittance and then stops paying until your tips exceed minimum wage. They're basically stealing the tips between $2.50 and whatever the minimum wage is in your area.

lowercased 8y ago
tipping encoded in to law in general seems crazy to me. many (most?) other countries don't have this ritual, and seem to do just fine. I've dined out in many other countries outside the US, and service is generally good regardless of whether tipping is involved/expected or not. And in the US, I don't feel my normal service is all that much better because someone is thinking I might tip an extra dollar or two on an $8 lunch.
- neuralRiot 8y ago
  I even feel it's the other way around, in other countries the tip is usually the change, like $8 meal, just leave a $10 bill and leave, staff is either happy or neutral, in the US if you don't leave enough you get nasty looks as you exit even if the service was unremarkable.