Connecticut lawmakers will consider this session whether to eliminate a “subminimum wage” for tipped workers like servers and require all employers to pay their staff at least minimum wage, a co-chair of the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee said Tuesday.
The soon-to-be raised bill was one of several proposals announced by Senate Democrats during a Tuesday morning press conference in the Legislative Office Building. Labor Committee co-chair Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, said the bill would eliminate Connecticut’s system for paying traditionally tipped employees.
Like many other states, Connecticut allows some employers to pay their tipped workers less than minimum wage by offsetting the pay using what’s called a tip credit. So while Connecticut’s minimum wage is currently $14 per hour and will rise to $15 per hour in June, restaurants may pay servers a “subminimum wage” of $6.38 an hour as long as the server makes at least minimum wage after tips.
Kushner said the policy, called “One Fair Wage,” has been adopted in at least seven other states and would put tipped workers on a level playing field.
“Ultimately what we’re finding is that we want to make sure that workers are protected and get a fair wage,” Kushner said. “[A]nd make sure they’re getting the minimum wage, which is often a problem in some of these professions that have tips.”
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