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Tipped wages bill being considered in Prince George's County
The battle over tipped wages continues in Prince George's County where the council is considering a bill to boost pay for tipped workers.
LARGO, Md. - The battle over tipped wages continues in Prince George's County where the council is considering a bill to boost pay for tipped workers.
FOX 5's Melanie Alnwick says that while everyone supports the idea of service industry workers making more money, those wages must come from somewhere.
The base wage for waitstaff in Prince George's County is currently $3.63. The rest of their take home pay is supplemented by tips.
The County Council wants to increase base wages to $7 an hour by next summer and adjust upward each year until 2028 when base wages would meet the current minimum wage.
This has been a hotly contested issue. Many servers take home $27 to $40 an hour in tip wages, but it can be highly variable depending on the establishment and the clientele.
Maryland lawmakers did not take action on a statewide proposal, agreeing with the restaurant association that increased labor costs could put many restaurants out of business or force them to raise prices and add on service charges.
In D.C., many restaurants are now adding a service charge to the bill to make up for the extra labor costs. Montgomery County introduced its bill in September.
Critics point out there is no "sub-minimum" wage. If a restaurant has a slow night and tips are thin, state law requires employers to make up the difference so that staff never take home less than minimum wage.
Maryland's minimum wage is going up to $15 an hour in January 2024.
Policy notes on the legislation say current tipped workers do make more than minimum wage, and some may see their compensation fall under the new proposal. It also says it would bring more wage stability to the most vulnerable low-wage service industry workers.
The competing rallies begin Thursday morning and the hearing begins at 1:30 p.m.