Efforts are ramping up to eliminate tipped minimum wages in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (At-Large) will introduce legislation Tuesday that would phase out that county’s tipped minimum wage by 2028.
The bill would fundamentally change the wages of thousands of tipped workers, a majority of whom are restaurant servers and bartenders. Currently, tipped workers earn $4 per hour, with the expectation that customer tips will increase their total earnings to at least the county’s minimum wage (which ranges from $14.50 to $16.70), a process referred to as tip credit. If tips fall short, the employer has to pay the difference to ensure workers earn the minimum wage.
“Every worker, irrespective of their background [or] ability, deserves the dignity of making a living wage, a fair wage,” Jawando tells DCist/WAMU.
Under Jawando’s bill, tipped workers would start to see raises in their base pay next summer, with an increase to $6 per hour in July 2024, and then $2 an hour more each year until their base wages equal the minimum wage. He is confident the bill will pass.
The bill introduced on Tuesday would also ensure that the change does not inadvertently increase a restaurant’s rent (which could happen in leases where rent payments are tied to a percentage of sales).
Jawando says he introduced the bill because the tip model can contribute to income inequality — and because it’s part of the legacy of...
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