Last updated on March 23rd, 2015 at 01:06 pm
More than 200 people, including restaurant operators, managers and servers, rallied at the Rhode Island State House on March 19 to testify against a bill that would eliminate the tipped wage. Organized by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association (RIHA), association members told the Rhode Island Committee on Labor that passage of this bill would negatively impact businesses, employees and Rhode Island’s economy.
Dale Venturini, RIHA president and CEO, said passage of the bill would “more than triple current labor costs, and with already-slim margins, restaurant owners will be forced to make tough decisions. Recently, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) in Washington, D.C., released analysis conducted by economists at Miami University and Trinity University concluding that eliminating the tipped wage could cost Rhode Island up to 3,400 jobs. The analysis also found that tipped employees already earn 35 percent more than the state’s minimum wage.”
