Potential Showdown Over Federal Tip Wage

The recent focus on income inequality has led to a push by worker groups, President Obama and many to raise the federal minimum wage, and now attention is also being paid to the minimum amount paid to workers who receive tips, primarily restaurant wait staff, whose $2.13 per hour wage floor has not changed since 1991. Current federal law requires that, if a server does not receive enough tips to reach the equivalent of the federal minimum $7.25 per hour, restaurant employers must make up the difference, but some claim employees may be too afraid of retribution to be sure that requirement is met. The National Restaurant Association, pivotal in freezing the tip wage in 1991, says if the tip wage is raised it will lead to higher menu prices and fewer waiters.