Tipping may not be a required part of the restaurant experience, but local servers said that earning less than federal minimum wage means depending on gratuities for a good portion of their income.
The federal minimum hourly wage was raised on July 24, 2009, to $7.25, but employees who receive tips are defined as an exempted category of worker by the U.S. Department of Labor. Tipped employees’ sub-minimum wage of $2.13 an hour was not increased in 2009, as it was for nonexempt workers.
As a result, most servers said the standard 15 percent tip of old is now considered a minimum gratuity. Most said 18-20 percent is a more appropriate average, even for establishments that are not full-service.
Millie Townsend
Server at: McHale’s Brew-house, 724 Ashland Terrace.
Serving experience: About 10 years, off and on.