A survey of two thousand restaurant workers reveals disturbing data on racial discrimination, sexual harassment and wage theft, in addition to a constant lack of staff in the industry.
It is the largest post-pandemic survey of its kind, interviewing more than two thousand tip-dependent workers across the country.
The results show that, here in New York, these workers are among the hardest hit in the nation by wage theft.
Berenice García, from Queens, who depends on tips to support her two children, has suffered directly:
“It’s sad because we are human and there is a lot of difference and they trample on you.”
The study by One Fair Wage, a nonprofit organization that advocates for minimum wages for these workers, indicates that reporting of wage theft is especially high in states that allow paying less than the minimum wage, such as New York.
And nearly half of all respondents said their tips are not enough to meet the minimum.
“My previous job, he told me when I asked him if he could raise the price, he told me that when I told him that it was the legal thing to do, it was true, because I, that is, with facts, I told him, and that is what he “He told me that here in America illegals are not required,” adds Berenice García, talking about her previous employer.
By law, if a tipped worker earns less than the state minimum wage of $15 per hour in New York City and $14.20 upstate, the restaurant or business must make up the difference by law.
Leticia James, the state attorney general, supported this survey. She says New York will not tolerate wage theft and it is your responsibility to enforce the law to prevent it.
Six in ten restaurant workers living in the city are immigrants, according to a study conducted by the New York state comptroller’s office in 2020.
Of the more than 300,000 employees in the industry, 44% were Hispanic, the study indicates.
Queens Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzales Rojas presented a bill to increase the minimum wage for tipped workers.
“Workers are important to our economy and we need to pay a fair wage,” says the assemblywoman.
He added that he is hopeful it will be approved in the next legislative session in January.
2023-10-28 13:15:00
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