Restaurant Worker Research & Reports

The complete list of OFW research reports on restaurant workers, tipped workers, the subminimum wage, sexual harassment in the restaurant industry, racial equity in restaurant pay, and state-by-state wage campaigns. Click any report above for the cover, summary, and full PDF.

• A Persistent Legacy of Slavery: Illinois — IL • racial equity • history
• A Persistent Legacy of Slavery: National — racial equity • history
• A Persistent Legacy of Slavery: New York — NY • racial equity • history
• A Tale of Two Restaurant Industries — subminimum • tipped • industry • small business • business case
• A Win-Win Solution for Chicago — IL • small business • wages
• Always Essential, Still Waiting for Change — wages • health
• Always Essential, Still Waiting for Change — New York — NY • wages • health
• An Industry of Immigrants: Restaurant Industry Impacts of Mass Deportation — immigration • industry
• Are You Being Served? — NY • wages
• Baltimore: This Mothers' Day, the Mothers Who Serve Us Deserve a Raise — MD • wages • gender
• Black Tipped Workers in Illinois: A Cost of Living Crisis — IL • racial equity • wages
• Chicago Poll on Raising Minimum Wage to $30 — IL • polling • wages
• Chicago Success Story — IL • wins • wages • business case
• Closed Due to Low Wages — NY • staffing • wages • business case
• DC Restaurant Jobs & Tips Reach Record High — DC • wins • industry • business case
• Dine Back Better — NY • industry • business case
• Dine Back Better Portland — ME • industry
• Doing More For Less — NY • wages
• Ending Legacy of Slavery and Addressing Maryland's Restaurant Staffing Crisis — MD • racial equity • staffing • business case
• Food Service Workers & The Food Stamp Crisis — public benefits • wages
• Full Deal for Full Recovery — wages
• Help Wanted — staffing • business case
• How the Raise the Wage Act Will Decrease Worker Poverty (Maine) — ME • wages • federal policy • business case
• Illinois: It's a Wage Shortage, Not a Worker Shortage — IL • staffing • wages • business case
• Illinois, It's Time To End The Subminimum Wage — IL • gender • subminimum
• Illinois: We Are Drowning — IL • wages • business case
• Impacts of the Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers in Puerto Rico — PR • subminimum • tipped
• Intentional Inequality — racial equity • wages
• Intentional Inequality Illinois — IL • racial equity • wages
• It's a Wage Shortage, Not a Worker Shortage — staffing • wages • business case
• Locked Out by Low Wages: DC — DC • wages • public benefits
• Locked Out by Low Wages: Michigan — MI • wages • public benefits
• Los Angeles Poll on Raising Minimum Wage to $30 — CA • polling • wages
• Major City Poll Testing Support of $30 Minimum Wage — polling • wages
• Making History: A New Future for DC's Restaurant Industry — DC • wins • business case
• Maryland Workers Demand One Fair Wage — MD • wages • business case
• Michigan: It's a Wage Shortage, Not a Worker Shortage — MI • staffing • wages • business case
• Minimizing Wages & Worker Health — MA • health • wages
• New Survey: 94% of New York Restaurant Workers Support One Fair Wage — NY • polling • wages
• New York Brief on The Tipped Minimum Wage as a Gender Equity Issue — NY • gender • subminimum
• New York Consumers Can Expect Significant Disruptions (Holiday Season) — NY • staffing
• New York: It's a Wage Shortage, Not a Worker Shortage — NY • staffing • wages • business case
• New York: We Are Drowning — NY • wages • business case
• No Pride in Subminimum Wages — lgbtq • subminimum
• No Rights, Low Wages, No Service — wages • harassment
• November 2020 Election Recap — polling
• NYC Poll on Raising Minimum Wage to $30 — NY • polling • wages
• One Fair Wage A Fork In The Road — NY • industry
• One Fair Wage For Illinois Tipped Workers — IL • tipped • subminimum
• One Fair Wage For Massachusetts Tipped Workers — MA • tipped • subminimum
• Opening the Door to Livable Wages (Outdoor Dining) — NY • wages • industry • business case
• Poll Testing $25 Minimum Wage in Competitive Congressional Districts — polling • federal policy
• Poll: Tipped Workers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Delaware — ME • NH • DE • polling • tipped
• Polling Shows Consistent Support for Raising the Minimum Wage — polling
• Raising the Bar: Chicago's New One Fair Wage Ordinance — IL • wins • wages • high road guide • business case
• Raising Wages to Reopen: National — wages • staffing • business case
• Recent Research on Minimum Wage in Michigan — MI • wages
• Research on the Tipped Minimum Wage — DC • tipped • subminimum
• Restaurants Can Provide Livable Wages — small business • wages • high road guide • business case
• Rising Cost of Living: Top Electoral Issues (2024) — polling
• Roadmap to Reimagine Restaurants — industry • high road guide
• ROC Action Results Memo — polling
• Serving While Sick: The Effect of Trump Medicaid and Benefits Cuts on Restaurant Workers & Public Health — health • public benefits • federal policy
• Short Changed: Ending Income Taxes On Tips Will Not Make Subminimum Wages Livable — tipped • subminimum • federal policy
• Small Business: California & Maryland Comparative — CA • MD • small business • business case
• Small Business: California & New York Comparative — CA • NY • small business • business case
• Small Business: Connecticut & California Comparative — CT • CA • small business • business case
• Small Business: Illinois & California Comparative — IL • CA • small business • business case
• Small Business: Massachusetts & California Comparative — MA • CA • small business • business case
• Still Waiting for Equal Pay: How $2.13 Suppresses Wages — tipped • subminimum
• Stop Leaving Us Out: 73 Years Excluding Women in NY — NY • gender • history
• #STOPGOLF — industry
• Take Off Your Mask So I Know How Much to Tip You: DC — DC • harassment • health
• Take Off Your Mask So I Know How Much to Tip You: Illinois — IL • harassment • health
• Take Off Your Mask So I Know How Much to Tip You: National — harassment • health
• The DC Success Story — DC • wins • business case
• The Great Black Restaurant Worker Exodus — racial equity • staffing
• The Last Major Metropolis — NY • wages
• The Low Wage Truths of Subminimum Wage Work — subminimum
• The NRA's Donations to Members of the 118th Congress — opposition • federal policy
• The NRA's Leading Role in Weakening Child Labor Laws — opposition • industry
• The Other NRA Exposed — opposition
• The Rent is Too High, And the Pay is Too Low (LA) — CA • wages • cost of living
• The Sky Is Not Falling; The Floor Is Rising — DC • industry • wages • business case
• The Subminimum Wage Crisis Is An LGBTQ Worker Crisis — lgbtq • subminimum
• The Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers as Public Health Crisis: Massachusetts — MA • health • subminimum
• The Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers as Public Health Crisis: National — health • subminimum
• The Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers as Public Health Crisis: New York City — NY • health • subminimum
• The Tipping Point — tipped
• The Washington, DC Consumers' Guide to I-82 And Service Charges — DC • tipped • industry
• UNLIVABLE — wages • cost of living
• Upstate NY Service Workers: Health & Harassment During COVID — NY • harassment • health
• We Are Not On the Menu — MD • harassment • gender
• We Need Relief AND Raises — wages • public benefits
• West Virginia Statewide Telephone Survey on the Minimum Wage — WV • polling
• Will Work for Fair Wages: Illinois — IL • wages