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| author | Megan E. Modic |
| title | Waiting: The Implications of Abolishing the Subminimum Wage in the U.S Restaurant Industry |
| abstract |
In 1991, Congress set the base subminimum wage for tipped workers at $2.13 per hour. As of 2014 (twenty-three years later) the tipped minimum wage remains at $2.13 while inflation and the federal minimum wage has continued to increase. Tipped minimum wage is now worth less than 30 percent of regular minimum wage. This, like federal minimum wage, is not a living wage. To that end it is a wage which is designed to deny tipped wage earners protection and reliability of income. Isolating the American restaurant industry, this paper enters the debate over minimum wage and address contemporary legislation to increase minimum wages. Additionally, the paper evaluates the historical implications and main issues surrounding living wage campaigns. In doing so, the study finds that the post-recessionary American economy continues to be unable to carry the weight of living wage ordinances outside of public contracts. Though unable to advocate for a living tipped wage, this paper utilized the benefits of a living wage to support the restriction of subminimum wages, claiming that they outweigh the cost of the burden of poverty on the federal government. Through an analysis of American tipping, the tip-free pay structure of foreign restaurant workers and my own experiences working in this sector, this paper will make a case for the necessity of abolishing tipped subminimum wage and tip culture in the United States.
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| school | The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University |
| degree | B.A. (May 2014) |
| advisor | Marc Tomljanovich |
| committee | Steven Suras
Karen Pechilis
Maliha Safri |
| full text |
MEModic.pdf - requires Drew uLogin |
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