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A Tale of Two Restaurant Industries

  • Feb 18, 2025
  • 1 min read

Updated: Mar 28, 2025

The restaurant industry has been in chaos since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Numer-

ous studies have documented that the sector’s chronic low wages, reliance on ever-decreasing tips, sexual harassment, and worker treatment during COVID resulted in workers fleeing the industry en masse.


In numerous reports, One Fair Wage has documented that restaurant workers and establishments in the 43 states that allow employers to pay tipped workers a subminimum wage — hereafter referred to as subminimum wage states — experience lower wages, restaurant establishment growth rates, and restaurant employment growth rates.


Even tipping has been found to be higher in the 7 states that require all employees to be paid a full minimum wage with tips on top — hereafter referred to as fair wage states (CA, OR, WA, NV, MN, MT, and AK); USA Today reported that the top state for tips is fair wage California.4


This report adds to this growing body of evidence, documenting the different experiences in the restaurant industry’s recovery post-COVID between the 7 fair wage states and the 43 that allow a subminimum wage for tipped workers.






 
 
 

19 Comments


Hannah Vang
Hannah Vang
6 days ago

This report is a really useful breakdown of how the 7 fair wage states are outpacing the 43 subminimum wage states on wages, employment, and tips. California topping the list for tips while still paying full minimum wage is genuinely persuasive. We circulate the full PDF internally to our training team and have started using PDF to Link to turn it into a quick shareable URL so new hires can pull it up on their phones during orientation instead of chasing an attachment in a group chat.

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Amy Hacks
Amy Hacks
Jul 17

Great insights! The comparison really shows how different factors like customer preferences, technology, and operating costs are shaping the future of the restaurant industry. It’s interesting to see how some businesses are adapting and thriving while others continue to face challenges. Thanks for sharing this thoughtful perspective! game vault download

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The comparison of fair wage versus subminimum wage states is striking, especially the finding that California tops the country in tips while still paying full minimum wage. Stable income matters hugely for young workers who often juggle school and shifts, and consistent pay helps them plan for college. While helping a student map out her prep timeline around a tight work schedule, I came across this free SAT score predictor and it was genuinely useful for setting realistic score targets.

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