Florida Restaurant Lobby Wants To Slash Server Minimum Wage By 50%

From Huff Po:

The Florida restaurant lobby is pushing a bill that would drop the minimum wage for the state's restaurant servers and other tipped employees from $4.65 to $2.13 an hour, creating the rare possibility of a legal wage floor being lowered rather than raised.

The bill under consideration by the state's tourism and commerce committee, SPB 7210, would allow restaurants to ditch the state's minimum wage for servers in favor of the lower, federal one, provided the businesses guarantee that their workers will earn at least $9.98 per hour after tips. If the bill were passed, servers would end up taking home less pay, and customers would be paying a greater share of the salary burden.

The state senate's website does not disclose who introduced the bill, though it appears to have the wide support of Florida's hospitality industry, including the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. Carol Dover, the group's executive director, said in an Orlando Sentinel article that the industry is saddled by rising pay and health care costs and "it's going to be a matter of time before the back of this industry breaks ... Minimum wage is killing them."

Worker advocacy groups are pushing back against the bill, arguing that the restaurant industry's dire talk is baseless. The National Restaurant Association, the foremost lobbying group for the industry, recently released its 2012 forecast, which predicted record sales and continued job growth.

"That's nationwide, and certainly Florida is no exception," says Saru Jayaraman, co-founder of Restaurant Opportunities Center United, which advocates for restaurant employees. "We think [the Florida bill] is both regressive and terribly immoral. To be reducing workers' wages at a time when profits are at a record high is pure greed."

According to the Sentinel article, one of the backers of the bill is Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners, owner of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill chains. OSI Partners gave more than $120,000 to 32 Florida Republicans -- and $500 to one Democrat -- during the 2010 election cycle, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

In most states, the minimum wage for waiters and other tipped employees is set lower than the minimum wage for other workers. Servers everywhere must be paid at least $2.13 per hour by their employer according to federal law, although many states opt to set that minimum much higher.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Comments

[BookishGirl]

Wouldn't it make more sense to pay the staff properly and just keep the tips? In this country the minimum rate for an adult in a restaurant is about $15.75/hr for M-F, time and a half for Saturday and double time for Sundays. And if you're a casual you get another 25% on top of that - you can end up getting about $40/hr on a public holiday. So we don't care that much about tips - they're nice but we don't expect them.

[paintedwaitress]

in Pennsylvania the server wage is $2.83/hour. I'd swoon over $4+, especially since a lot of people seem to still think that 10% tip is perfectly acceptable.

[Spritzy]

I like how the article says there'll be a "garauntee" of $9.98 after tips...and how, exactly, do they propose to gaurantee that the customers won't be grumps or tightwads who don't tip well...or at all?

[paintedwaitress]

the guarantee is a promise from the owners that if, *in a pay period*, the server's tips/hourly wage does not work out to an average of 9.98/hour (or minimum wage, 7.75 in PA I think), they will make up the difference. but it's not on a shift by shift basis, it's the average of what you make in a week or two weeks, whatever your paycheck period is.

[Framer-Fatal]

And of course, if your boss has to cover that gap you will get in trouble, don't think you won't.
Pathetic. It's crap to me that they make below minimum anyway. I'd tip knowing full-well that my waitress/ waitor made minimum, because She / he works their damn butt off. This is just crap.

[Nick]

What exactly are they smoking??

[RT Bear]

HMMMM...I may have to think twice before I go back to Outback again (mmmm...Aussie cheesefries)...and I find it hard to believe that restaurants are suffering that badly, especially the OSI group, I've always had at least a 30 minute wait for a table at Outback, even on a weekday...what will happen if this bill passes is a sudden reduction in waitstaff, a downward trend in guest satisfaction and a loss of revenue...

[The Last Archimedean]

I'd like some of what whoever proposed that bill was smoking. It must be some GOOD s*** because no one whose brain wasn't chemically altered would think this made any kind of sense. If anything they should drop the stupid rule that says you can pay less than minimum wage to restuarant staff. They shouldn't have to rely on the goodwll of customers to scrape by.

BTW, I always tip 20% or more on those rare occasions where I have enough $$$ to eat at a sit-down restaurant.

[BookishGirl]

This is totally OT, but we don't actually have cheesefries in Australia - I think they're bullshitting you.

[LadyBelle]

@Bookishgirl - holy crap, where do you live?

"n this country the minimum rate for an adult in a restaurant is about $15.75/hr for M-F, time and a half for Saturday and double time for Sundays. And if you're a casual you get another 25% on top of that - you can end up getting about $40/hr on a public holiday."

Here waitstaff get about $2.13 an hour, and almost never get full time. The state minimum wage here is $5.15 an hour, but the federal one of $7.25 overrides the state.

[Daisy]

OMG. How can anyone live on $2-something or even $4-something a hour? Unless they live in sub-Saharan Africa, that kind of money would not buy anything! Here I thought I was hard done by because the minimum wage in Alberta is $9.40 (I think $9.05 for servers, but don't quote me on that), which is one of the lowest in Canada.

I had no idea wages were so abysmal in the States. No wonder people were occupying Wall Street! I am truly shocked and horrified.

And I'm sure whoever said that "minimum wage is killing the industry" probably takes a Caribbean cruise twice a year while their employees can't even buy Kraft Dinner for supper. (Seriously, $2-something??? How can anyone even buy basic necessities with that?!)

[shuichiboy]

"Minimum wage is killing them"

Pardon me, but if minimum wage is hurting your business that much, you need to go back to school and learn how to run a business.

[Fred's Photo Slut]

I found myself glaring angrily at the Outback commercial that just came on. $2 an hour is sickening...

[NC Tony]

If this law gets passed these are going to be the same people crying when their staff quits and people stop patronizing their businesses and they are forced to close their doors. The fact that servers only make $2.13 an hour is the biggest crock of shit ever. Like Daisy said, whoever complained about the fact that minimum wage is killing the industry probably never even held a minimum wage job, never worried about how they were going to feed their family, pay their bills, pay their rent/mortgage, put gas in their car. Let the higher ups live on minimum wage for a year and see if they like struggling just to get by, I'd bet you see minimum wage go up pretty fucking quick.

[Aunty]

2.13/hr isn't worth the gas to cash those checks. I waitressed for a few weeks before I quit over shenanigans, not least of which is the low pay and lack of tips. (Working at a buffet gets you pennies in tips; the best servers were glad to walk out with $20 on a Saturday night)

While I was there, I heard the manager talk to several people about their tips. They simply weren't making the $6 an hour they need to keep the restaurant from -le gasp- having to pay them a fair wage. People got fired for it, though the manager couldn't say that's why they were fired. But we all know that when a manager wants you gone, they'll find a reason.

"(Seriously, $2-something??? How can anyone even buy basic necessities with that?!)"
Well, if you're a great employee with a Can Do attitude and you work extra especially hard you'll be fine! /wrist

[LadyBelle]

Let's not forget the tax laws that assume you make 'x' amount a night regardless if you do or not. So even if you don't make those tips, you still will have to pay taxes on the income you would of gotten had there been tips.

[bbbeans]

When my brother worked at Applebee's he made $2.13 an hour + tips. I think it is ridiculous and wrong that servers are paid that low but here in NC that's the minimum wage for servers if I am remembering correctly. In other words, its not surprising that Florida is moving towards that as well.

[SomeUser9]

Petition to vote NO on SPB 2710 http://sayno7210.com

[Art & Amaretto]

I used to work at a mom'n'pop restaurant (actually, I should post some horror stories from that joint) here in Georgia, USAland, and the prices on most of the food was ridiculously low. Which meant the dollar amounts of even our "good" tips were also ridiculously low. Some nights were of course really good, but all averaged out I barely made minimum wage...during a good week.

There would have been blood if any of us had pushed for management to actually cover the difference (even though it's their legal obligation). I can't imagine these restaurants being any different.

(Just more proof that Congress should NOT enact laws giving employers wiggle room if they don't plan on making provisions to ENFORCE SAID LAWS. Restaurants should be audited for employment practices!)