From subminimum tipped wages up for debate and a proposed rule that could one day reclassify delivery drivers as employees, to California’s new fast food worker protection laws, here’s what employers need to know

Across the United States, legal protections for employees in or around the restaurant industry continue to be debated, voted on, and put into practice: from California’s FAST Recovery Act passed in September — which could raise the statewide minimum wage to $22 an hour and be adopted by other states — to the current proposed subminimum wage abolishment on the ballot in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Maine.

First, here is a breakdown of all of the worker protection proposals — many of which would directly impact the restaurant industry — that voters will be deciding on on Election Day in two weeks:

• Washington, D.C. – Residents are voting on Initiative 82, which would essentially ban the subminimum tipped wage for all tipped workers performing service work, including restaurant servers. If passed, employers — who can currently pay their tipped employees as low as $5.35 — would have to more than triple their paychecks to $16.10 per hour.
• Portland, Maine – Come Nov. 8, voters will decide on whether to vote yes or no on Question D—which would raise the current minimum wage of $13 per hour to $18 per hour by 2025, and would also eliminate the subminimum tipped wage, which currently sits at $6.50. This legislation was proposed by the Maine Chapter of the Democratic...

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