On April 4, the Illinois House Labor Committee advanced legislation that seeks to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped service workers across the state, bringing them in line with the full state minimum wage. Currently, tipped workers in Illinois are only guaranteed a base wage of $8.40 per hour, plus tips. However, this bill mandates that employers must pay tipped workers the full minimum wage of $14 per hour, requiring them to make up the difference if tips do not elevate the employee’s earnings to this level.
Tipped workers in Illinois earn a minimum wage that is 40% less than other workers, at just $8.40/hour, compared to the $14/hour full state minimum wage. This harmful subminimum wage affects a workforce of nearly 200,000 tipped workers that is 63% women and 40% people of color.
Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage, released the following statement about this development:
“Today in Illinois, women working off of tips in the service industry earn nearly $5,000 per year less than their male colleagues. Black women, in particular, earn $6,500 less annually than their white male colleagues.
“A direct legacy of slavery, the subminimum wage for decades has been used as a tool to force service industry workers, particularly women and people of color, to live in poverty. And to make matters worse, a recent study by the University of Illinois found that local workers are experiencing skyrocketing levels of wage theft, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
“The advancement of HB 5345 represents a historic step towards justice for tipped workers in Illinois. For too long, the subminimum wage has perpetuated income inequality and economic insecurity among service workers and remain committed to ensuring that all workers in Illinois have the opportunity to earn a fair and living wage. We applaud the efforts of Rep. Hernandez and all supporters of this vital legislation.”
Last month, One Fair Wage released a brief entitled: ‘One Fair Wage for IL Tipped Workers: A Racial & Gender Justice Issue’. The brief highlights the significant racial and gender pay inequities caused by customer bias in tipping and occupational segregation that keeps women of color in more casual restaurants where they are tipped less.
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