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Originally Posted by Chris T
And for bartenders (and anyone else who earns tips) the minimum wage is a criminal $2.13 (£1.21) .
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No, it isn't. That is only if the tips exceed the federal minimum wage of $5.15. Look at this quote from the link you provided:
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An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.
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I.e. no tipped employee will ever take home less than $5.15 an hour. The direct minimum wage can be set at 1c an hour, but if the tips don't exceed the federal minimum wage, then the employer will have to make up the difference of $5.14. Either way, service industry staff are garanteed at least $5.15 per hour for their work, and times when employers have to make up the difference are extremely few and far between.
You can't just say they earn £2.92, how terrible... everything else is cheaper so they are still 'richer'. A 2L bottle of Coca-cola (branded) is 89c... that's 52p, compared with the £1.25 at least you pay here. Like I said, my younger brother earns less than me, but the money goes much further. Its the ecomomy.