By Daniel Wiessner
Oct 23 (Reuters) – A lawsuit filed on Friday involving the pay practices of Chili’s operator Brinker International is seeking to strike down New York state’s lower minimum wage for workers who earn tips, which it claims fuels the sexual and racial harassment of workers.
The proposed class action in federal court in Brooklyn by three former Chili’s employees claims that New York’s policy, which most other US states share, allows Brinker to force employees to rely on tips and exposes them to unlawful discrimination.
“Brinker promotes a culture in which tipped service employees make customers ‘feel special,’ even at the expense of their dignity and safety,” the lawsuit says.
Brinker did not respond to a request for comment. The New York Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the challenge to the state law.
Many worker advocates have for years called for the elimination of sub-minimum wages that companies may pay to workers who earn tips under federal and most state laws, as long as tips make up the difference.
In New York, where the minimum wage is $16 an hour or $17 in and around New York City, food service workers who earn tips may be paid $10.70 or $11.35 an hour. The federal tipped minimum wage is $2.13 an hour, compared with the traditional minimum wage of $7.25, and applies in states that do not set their own minimums.
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