Forest Hills Eatery Pays Tipped Workers Above Minimum Wage: Study

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A couple of central Queens restaurants — including one in Forest Hills — were recognized for paying their tipped food service workers above the city’s starting wage, with tips on top.

The study, by the advocacy organization One Fair Wage, scanned thousands of national postings for tipped food worker jobs between Aug. 24 and Sept. 16 to see which employers were paying their tipped workers the complete minimum wage or higher — not the subminimum wage, which is often paid to tipped workers under the assumption that they will earn more money in tips.

All told, more than 1,600 employers were included in the list, including 111 in New York — one of which was based in Forest Hills: Cheeburger Cheeburger, a retro chain spot located at 108-50 Queens Boulevard. Slide Bar-BQ, located at 52-75 65th Place in Maspeth, was also on the list, along with two spots in Long Island City.

Cheeburger Cheeburger pays its tipped workers a starting wage of $15 per-hour, and Slide Bar-BQ pays a starting wage of $12 per-hour, the study shows.

These employers are only a snapshot of the city’s thousands of restaurants.

The legacy of a subminimum wage

In New York City, food service workers — including waiters, bartenders, and bussing personnel — must be paid a starting wage of $10 an-hour, including a $5 tip credit per-hour, which in theory should match the city’s minimum wage of $15 per-hour. This system plays out at different rates nationally.

The study, however, points out that tipped workers receiving a subminimum wage are in a vulnerable position — especially during the pandemic, when many such workers lost their jobs and struggled to qualify for unemployment benefits because they were not making enough money, One Fair Wage reported. Those who returned to work last summer reported a decrease in tips and increase in health risks, customer hostility, and sexual harassment, the study reports.

Also, the study points out that in the United States the subminimum wage — which is $2.13 at the federal level — is related to the legacy of slavery, from a time when Black workers were hired only to be paid in tips, not a wage.

Since the pandemic, however, restaurants have increased wages across the board, the study found, in part as a measure to attract and retain workers, who have left their low-paying jobs at an increasingly high rate.

Fairer wages

Of the 41 states included in the study, the vast majority were paying a subminimum wage of $5 or less earlier this year, One Fair Wage found, but now all have raised wages — amounting to an average wage of about $13.50 per-hour.

In New York, the study identified 111 employers who are paying tipped workers more than the city’s starting wage of $10 — with tips on top — at an average of $16.65 per-hour rate.

“As a restaurant owner in New York City, I see no reason that we continue the practice of
paying our workers a subminimum wage, forcing them to rely so heavily on tips as the bulk
of their income,” said Claire Sprouse, who owns Hunky Dory in Brooklyn, adding that she wants to see fair wages across the restaurant industry.

“We need to mandate One Fair Wage, and allow tip sharing with the back of
the house, so that our workforce can enjoy stability, dignity, and equity. Let’s build a more
sustainable industry for all,” she said.

Read the full One Fair Wage study here.