New York’s Acting Labor Commissioner Mario J. Musolino issued an Order on February 24, 2015, responding to the report and recommendations of the 2014 Hospitality Wage Board, accepting many of the Board’s recommendations including the highest ever wage for tipped workers in New York—$7.50 per hour effective December 31, 2015.
Tipped workers are paid a required base rate. Their tips added to that base pay must equal or exceed the minimum wage.
The Department of Labor accepted the following recommendations from the Wage Board:
| (1) |
Uniform tip amounts and criteria for all tipped workers in the hospitality industry, so that the same rates apply to food service workers, service employees and service employees in resort hotels. |
| (2) |
Increase the tipped cash wage amounts from their current rates of $4.90, $5.00 and $5.65, which have not increased since 2011, to $7.50 per hour, effective December 31, 2015. |
| (3) |
If the legislature enacts a separate minimum wage rate for New York City, then the cash wage for such workers must be increased by $1, effective on the date that such separate minimum wage rate for New York City takes effect. |
| (4) |
A review of whether the system of cash wages and tip credits should be eliminated. |