This morning Assembly Majority Conference Leader Shavonda Sumter announced that she is amending a bill she introduced earlier this year, A1972, so that it raises the tipped minimum wage until it is eliminated altogether. Until now, the debate on raising New Jersey’s minimum wage has excluded tipped workers, who are susceptible to sexual harassment, abuse, and wage violations.

Brandon McKoy, NJPP Director of Government and Public Affairs:

“Phasing out the tipped wage is sound public policy that will boost the take home pay of nearly 200,000 New Jersey workers. The seven states without a tipped minimum wage experience lower rates of poverty, especially for women and workers of color. One fair wage also promotes workplace safety as it eliminates dangerous power dynamics that leave tipped workers vulnerable to sexual harassment and abuse. Eliminating the tipped wage must be included in proposals to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.”

New Jersey’s tipped wage, by the numbers

(Data from NJPP’s latest minimum wage report)

• There are approximately 193,000 tipped workers in New Jersey, all of whom would benefit from increasing the tipped wage from $2.13
• Approximately 78,000 of New Jersey’s tipped workers are waiters or bar staff
• Tipped workers experience wage theft at higher rates than other workers. According to the US Department of Labor, 83.8 percent of restaurants had some type of wage and hour violation (source)
• New Jersey’s tipped wage has been stuck at $2.13 since 1991. The value of this wage has eroded to a value of $1.15 in 1991 inflation-adjusted dollars.
• Seven states, including the entire west coast, has eliminated the tipped minimum wage
• States that eliminated the tipped minimum wage have lower rates of poverty and reduced incidents of sexual harassment