Silicon Valley? The restaurant business started the model of screwing employees and paying them less. I don’t give why ever is okay with it
I would not be OK with it if I tipped at a restaurant and the restaurant reduced the staff's pay by the amount I tipped.
This: Base pay starts low, and is reduced by the tip amount, contrary to the expectations of customers and workers.
Now is it clear how they are two different things?
To style it like your comment, server wage: Base pay starts low (minimum wage), and is reduced by the tip amount. Customers may or may not be aware that servers are paid below minimum wage and that their tips will be appropriated by the business. Businesses don't exactly advertise this.
If there's something enshrined in law beyond a lower minimum wage for tipped workers I'm interested to know.
I work for an hour and don't receive any tips. My employer has to pay me $10 to comply with minimum wage laws.
I work for another hour and receive $5 in tips. My employer now has to pay me $5 so that my total pay for the hour is $10. I make the same amount in wages + tips that I did in the first hour, but my employer saves $5.
There's lots of jobs, like commissioned sales, where the employer has to pay minimum wage. They get rid of salespeople who may do a great job of relating to the customer and explaining the benefits but can't close the sale. Out the door for somebody who is pushy, etc.
> a lower minimum wage for tipped workers
Money is fungible; reducing paid wage by the amount tipped (to a limit) is the same as just paying minimum wage and taking that portion of the tip from the worker.
This helps them grow when they are are small, and then when they get bigger they can either fight it in court, lobby, etc.
For example, Airbnb, Uber, Lime, etc.