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California doesn't have a special minimum wage for tipped professions? When I was waiting tables a long time ago I think my pay was $1.95 an hour. It was usuall

California doesn't have a special minimum wage for tipped professions? When I was waiting tables a long time ago I think my pay was $1.95 an hour. It was usually just enough to cover tax on tips (the ones we admitted).

Aloisius 1y ago
Nope. Tipped workers are paid full minimum wage in California.
sundaeofshock 1y ago
California has not had a tipped minimum wage since at least the early 2000s, and I can’t seem to find any information on what is in the 1900s.
rconti 1y ago
Looks like it changed in 1988 due to a state supreme court ruling about a 1975 law. The law said the tips were the "sole property" of the employee and couldn't be counted by the employer as wages. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-01-mn-628-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-01-mn-628-st...
jandrewrogers 1y ago
They eliminated the special minimum wage for tipped professions in Seattle too, which is currently $20.76 per hour.
godelski 1y ago
> California doesn't have a special minimum wage for tipped professions? NO STATE has a "special minimum wage for tipped professionals". MOST STATES allow tips to be *credited* towards wage, but NO STATE allows an employee to be paid less than minimum wage. There's a "special minimum wage THAT EMPLOYERS MUST CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS a tipped professional'S WAGE", but that's a very different thing than "the minimal amount of pay an employee may receive." The difference is where the money comes from: directly from employer vs directly from customer. But in all cases *the sum of these sources* must equal the minimum wage. If the employee is not taking home at least minimum wage, then the employer is guilty of wage theft. If the employer does not make at least $x towards an employee's wage, the employer is guilty of wage theft. So instead, read the CA's (and AK, MN, MT, NV, OR, WA) rule as "tips may not be credited towards an employee's salary". [0] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped
- FireBeyond 1y ago
  > If the employer does not make at least $x towards an employee's wage, the employer is guilty of wage theft. See what your server's reaction is if you tell them to report this wage theft. They won't. They'll just suggest you tip them to compensate.
  - godelski 1y ago
    They should. It's easy to report. Doesn't matter if nothing happens right away, because the more reports that accumulate the higher priority it becomes. So instead of trying to tell me how fruitless this is and just give up to endless arguments, maybe report wage theft if you know about it. You can do it anonymously. You can do it for people that tell you. It's not a hopeless situation. Hell, lawyers take payment after the case is won, and you know if your wage is being stolen then others are too
    - kelnos 1y ago
      It's easy to report, but retaliation is a thing, and is hard -- and expensive -- to prove. Someone subject to wage theft is not the kind of person who can afford that trouble. And it's not like restaurant owners don't talk among themselves. Getting blackballed isn't great. Bottom line is that you seem to think that there's zero reason why people are shy about reporting wage theft. And yet so many people don't want to do it. Maybe try a little humility on and accept that maybe there are reasons you don't know about or don't understand. It's very easy to tell people what they should be doing when you don't have to walk in their shoes.
      - fn-mote 1y ago
        > it's not like restaurant owners don't talk among themselves I’m sympathetic to the arguments, but this sounds like scaremongering. If you have evidence of it, please post. There are so many restaurants everywhere, just leave the worst place off your resume. I can’t see owners coordinating if there’s no online platform for it.
      - 1y ago

Aloisius 1y ago

Nope. Tipped workers are paid full minimum wage in California.

sundaeofshock 1y ago

California has not had a tipped minimum wage since at least the early 2000s, and I can’t seem to find any information on what is in the 1900s.

rconti 1y ago

Looks like it changed in 1988 due to a state supreme court ruling about a 1975 law. The law said the tips were the "sole property" of the employee and couldn't be counted by the employer as wages. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-01-mn-628-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-01-mn-628-st...

jandrewrogers 1y ago

They eliminated the special minimum wage for tipped professions in Seattle too, which is currently $20.76 per hour.

godelski 1y ago

> California doesn't have a special minimum wage for tipped professions? NO STATE has a "special minimum wage for tipped professionals". MOST STATES allow tips to be *credited* towards wage, but NO STATE allows an employee to be paid less than minimum wage. There's a "special minimum wage THAT EMPLOYERS MUST CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS a tipped professional'S WAGE", but that's a very different thing than "the minimal amount of pay an employee may receive." The difference is where the money comes from: directly from employer vs directly from customer. But in all cases *the sum of these sources* must equal the minimum wage. If the employee is not taking home at least minimum wage, then the employer is guilty of wage theft. If the employer does not make at least $x towards an employee's wage, the employer is guilty of wage theft. So instead, read the CA's (and AK, MN, MT, NV, OR, WA) rule as "tips may not be credited towards an employee's salary". [0] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

FireBeyond 1y ago
> If the employer does not make at least $x towards an employee's wage, the employer is guilty of wage theft. See what your server's reaction is if you tell them to report this wage theft. They won't. They'll just suggest you tip them to compensate.
- godelski 1y ago
  They should. It's easy to report. Doesn't matter if nothing happens right away, because the more reports that accumulate the higher priority it becomes. So instead of trying to tell me how fruitless this is and just give up to endless arguments, maybe report wage theft if you know about it. You can do it anonymously. You can do it for people that tell you. It's not a hopeless situation. Hell, lawyers take payment after the case is won, and you know if your wage is being stolen then others are too
  - kelnos 1y ago
    It's easy to report, but retaliation is a thing, and is hard -- and expensive -- to prove. Someone subject to wage theft is not the kind of person who can afford that trouble. And it's not like restaurant owners don't talk among themselves. Getting blackballed isn't great. Bottom line is that you seem to think that there's zero reason why people are shy about reporting wage theft. And yet so many people don't want to do it. Maybe try a little humility on and accept that maybe there are reasons you don't know about or don't understand. It's very easy to tell people what they should be doing when you don't have to walk in their shoes.
    - fn-mote 1y ago
      > it's not like restaurant owners don't talk among themselves I’m sympathetic to the arguments, but this sounds like scaremongering. If you have evidence of it, please post. There are so many restaurants everywhere, just leave the worst place off your resume. I can’t see owners coordinating if there’s no online platform for it.
    - 1y ago