The federal minimum wage for non-exempt employees is at least $7.25 and as high as $15 in cities such as Seattle, which may or may not be enough for someone to survive off of depending on their situation. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, if there is a discrepancy between federal and state minimum wage rates, the higher standard applies. But if you work in the service sector or anywhere that you are considered a tipped employee, things are a little different. You may be facing a base pay of $2-5 unless your state or company says otherwise. If this is the case, you rely on tips for your salary. That’s why there is a recommended 15-20% tip range. Note that the company is required to increase cash wages if in the end the tips do not equal the minimum wage but this doesn’t always happen. Some servers and bartenders end up making double minimum wage with the tips they make while others hardly meet that minimum wage mark. Today’s story is on Taylar Cordova, a 22-year-old mother and P.F. Chang’s waitress in Colorado who made a statement on Facebook in March of this year after she received a zero dollar tip for a bill of $187. At the time, her position was listed as a take-out server but her post indicated that she was probably waiting at the time. Many folks, especially those in the service industry, stood behind her and have called her statement ‘powerful.’ There are some people in the service industry, however, who described tipping for take-out as absurd, but again it is unclear what the young waitress was doing at the time. Others encouraged her to find a better paying job. A handful blamed the employer and the government. Continue reading and let us know your thoughts on tipping.Taylar Cordova is a young mother and waitress trying to provide for her daughter. Like many servers out there, she relies on tips for her salary, more so than her regular paycheck.
In March, Cordova served a table that spent almost $200 on food and drinks, and they left no tip. Have you ever left a restaurant without tipping? If so, you probably felt as though you received terrible service. We weren’t there but we can guess that the she felt as though she provided good service, which would explain why she was so upset.
People in the service sector are often paid well below minimum wage, a $2-5 base pay (higher in some of the bigger cities), because the tips are supposed to at least even it out. When they don’t, that’s when employers are required to increase their cash wages.
Here’s the young server’s post detailing her night, revealing how it impacted her, and making a plea to the public to tip or stay home.
As she wrote in her post, whether a guest tips or not makes all the difference when it comes to her daughter’s well being – clothes and groceries, for example.
You can point blame to anyone, and many people did, but the reality is the young woman was just trying to make things work with the situations at hand. She would cry in the shower because she was that worried.
Money can be a stressful subject for anyone. In the case of Taylar Cordova, do you think she had a reason to complain? If so, who do you think is responsible for effecting change? Her, the guests, the employer, or the government?
