Tipped Over the Edge Gender in Equity Rest

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Tipped Over

Gender Inequityin the Restaurant Industry

Frar 13, 2012

BY THE RESTAURANT OPPORTUNITIESCENTERS UNITED

AND

FAMILY VALUES @ WORK

HERvotes COALITION

INSTITUTE FOR WOMENS POLICY RESEARCH

MOMSRISING

NATIONAL COALITION ON BLACK CIVIC PARTICIPATIO

BLACK WOMENS ROUNDTABLE

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN FOUNDATION

NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES

NATIONAL WOMENS LAW CENTER

WIDER OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

WOMEN OF COLOR POLICY NETWORK, NYU WAGNER9TO5, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKING WOMEN

RESEARCH SUPPORT

The Ford Foundation

The Moriah Fund

The Open Society Foundations

The Rockefeller Foundation

The edge


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Gr Iqi i Rara Ir

BY THE RESTAURANT OPPORTUNITIES CENTERS UNITED

February 13 , 2012

AND

FAMILY VALUES @ WORK

HERvotes COALITION

INSTITUTE FOR WOMENS POLICY RESEARCH

MOMSRISING

NATIONAL COALITION ON BLACK CIVIC PARTICIPATIONS BLACK WOMENS ROUNDTABLE

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN FOUNDATION

NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES

NATIONAL WOMENS LAW CENTER

WIDER OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

WOMEN OF COLOR POLICY NETWORK, NYU WAGNER

9TO5, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKING WOMEN

RESEARCH SUPPORT

The Ford Foundation

The Moriah Fund

The Open Society Foundations

The Rockefeller Foundation

Tipped Over The edge


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Table OF cOnTenTs

1

7

7

8

9

14

17

17

17

18

20

21

22

23

24

26

27

29

29

30

31

32

All contents copyRIGht 2012 RestAuRAnt oppoRtunItIes centeRs unIted.

eXecuTive suMMary

chapTer 1resTauranT indusTry challenges and gendered pOlicies

MeThOdOlOgy

indusTry OvervieW: unJusT cOndiTiOns, unMeT pOTenTial

The subMiniMuM Wage FOr Tipped WOrKers: iMpacTs and Origins

WOrKer prOFileCLAUDIA MUNOZ

chapTer 2

cenTral challenges FOr WOMen in The resTauranT indusTry

gender pay ineQuiTy in The resTauranT indusTry

FEMALE RESTAURANT WORKERS ARE PAID LESS

WHY ARE FEMALE RESTAURANT WORKERS PAID LESS?

WOrKer prOFileMAYA PALEY

THE LOWER TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE EXACERBATES HARDSHIP FOR WOMEN

lacK OF healTh care and paid sicK leave

seXual harassMenT

WOrKer prOFileJUNE LINDSEY

eMplOyer prOFileCHEF-OWNER DIEP TRAN, GOOD GIRL DINETTE

lacK OF schedule cOnTrOl

chapTer 3

pOlicy recOMMendaTiOns

POLICYMAKERS

EMPLOYERS

CONSUMERS

appendiX

MeThOdOlOgy


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IndustRy oveRvIew: unjust condItIons, unmet potentIAl

The restaurant industry employs over 10 million workers1 in one o the largest and astest-growing

sectors o the United States economy.2 The majority o workers in this huge and growing sector are

women.3 Despite the sectors growth and potential to oer opportunities to advance womens eco-

nomic security, restaurant workers wages have not kept pace with the industrys economic growth.

The restaurant industry oers some o the nations lowest-wage jobs, with little access to benets and

career advancement. In 2010, seven o the ten lowest-paid occupations were all restaurant occupations.4

The restaurant industry has one o the highest concentrations o workers (39 percent) earning at or

below the minimum wage.5 Moreover, low wages tell only part o the story; workers also lack access to

benets and career mobility. These challenges create a disproportional burden or women.

the submInImum wAGe FoR tIpped woRkeRs: explAnAtIon And ImpAct

The ederal subminimum wage or tipped workers has been rozen at $2.13 since 1991,

losing 40 percent o its value in real terms.6 Employers are allowed by law to pay $2.13 per

hour to tipped employees as long as tips make up the dierence between $2.13 and $7.25.

However, survey and interview data gathered by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers

United (ROC-United) indicate that employers requently ignore this requirement.7

Servers, who are 71 percent emale, comprise the largest group o all tipped workers, 8

and experience almost three times the poverty rate o the workorce as a whole.9 Conse-

quently, servers rely on ood stamps at nearly double the rate o the general population.10

Essentially, many o the workers who serve America its ood cannot aord to eat.

The restaurant industry is one o the only sectors in which predominately male positions

have a dierent minimum wage than predominately emale positions: non-tipped work-

ers (52 percent male) have a ederal minimum wage o $7.25, while tipped workers (66

percent emale) have a ederal subminimum wage o $2.13 (s F A). In many sectors,

lower wages or women are oten a product o discriminatory employer practices but in

the restaurant industry, lower wages or women are also set by law.

1 Restaurant Opportunities Centers-United (ROC-United) analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Occupational Employ-ment Statistics, 2010. 2010 OES for Food Prep and Serving (350000) NAICS 722 employees, plus 35-0000 occupations inindustries such as amusement parks, spectator sports, and gambling. This method excludes Food Prep and Serving RelatedOccupations in institutions such as prisons and schools.

2 ROC-United analysis of BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data (QCEW), 2001 to 2010. NAICS 722 FoodServices and Drinking Places.

3 BLS, Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity(Table 11), 2010. Food preparation andserving related occupations, http://bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.pdf (January 2012).4 BLS, OES, 2010. National Cross-Industry Estimates sorted by median hourly wage for all Standard Occupational Classica-

tions, http://bls.gov/pub/special.requests/oes/oesm10nat.zip (January 2012).5 BLS, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2010. Table 4, Employed wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with

earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by major occupation group, 2010 annual averages, Food prepa-ration and serving related occupations, http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2010tbls.htm#4 (January 2012).

6 The tipped minimum wage should be worth $3.54 in 2011 dollars to equal $2.13 in 1991 dollars. National Womens LawCenter (NWLC) calculations from BLS CPI calculator, http://www.bls.gov/data/ination_calculator.htm.

7 ROC-United, Behind the Kitchen Door: A Multi-Site Study of the Nations Restaurant Industry(BKD), 2011.8 Institute for Womens Policy Research (IWPR) analysis of Current Population Survey data provided by the Center for

Economic and Policy Research. 2011. CPS ORG Uniform Extracts, Version 1.6. Washington , DC.9 Allegretto, Sylvia, and Kay Filion, Waiting for Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage, 2011. Economic Policy Institute

& Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics Brieng Paper #297, http://www.epi.org/publication/waiting_for_change_the_213_federal_subminimum_wage/ (January 2012).

10 ROC-United calculations of CPS, 2010. Food stamps refers to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.11 ROC-United calculations based on BLS, Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

(Table 11), 2010. Food preparation and serving related occupations, separated into tipped and non-tipped occupations.

eXecuTive suMMary

gender cOMpOsiTiOn

OF nOn-Tipped resTauranT

WOrKers WiTh $7.25

Federal MiniMuM Wage

gender cOMpOsiTiOn

FOr Tipped resTauranT

WOrKers WiTh $2.13 Federal

subMiniMuM Wage

Figure ATh la majot o woks tppd

occpatos mpactd b th sbmmmwa o $2.13 a wom.11

Men52%

Men34%

WOMen48%

WOMen66%


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2

The negative eects o the restaurant industrys central chal-

lengeslow and poverty-level wages, lack o benets, discrimi-

nation, occupational segregation, sexual harassment, and lack

o schedule controlall disproportionately on women.

A. GENDER PAY INEQUITY

Gender pay inequity is present in many industries, but is par-

ticularly harmul in the restaurant industry where wages are

so low that the gender wage gap can mean the dierence be-

tween living below or above the poverty line or women and

their amilies.

FemAle RestAuRAnt woRkeRs ARe pAId less

The typical ull-time, year round, emale restaurant worker is

paid 79 percent o what her male counterpart earns.12 Within

servers, the industrys largest occupational category, ull time,

year round, emale servers are paid 68 percent o what their

male counterparts are paid ($17,000 vs. $25,000 annually).

Black emale servers are paid only 60 percent o what male

servers overall are paid, costing them a decit o more than

$400,000 over a lietime.13

why ARe FemAle RestAuRAnt woRkeRs pAId less?

Female restaurant workers are paid less than their male coun-

terparts or two primary reasons. First, they are concentrated in

lower-paying segments such as quick-serve and amily style,14

and second, they are not able to access the highest-paying posi-

tions in the industry. Women ll only 19 percent o che posi-

tions,15 one o the highest paying restaurant positions with a

median wage o $19.23.16 And at the lowest end o the pay scale,

women are highly concentrated in our o the ten lowest paid

occupations o any industry: host, counter attendant, combined

ood prep and serving worker, and server.17

the loweR tIpped mInImum wAGe exAceRbAte

hARdshIp FoR women

The low ederal subminimum wage contributes to dispropo

tionate hardship or women in the overall workorce. Despi

having the same poverty rate or the overall workorce o 6

percent, states that ollow the ederal tipped subminimum

wage have a much higher poverty rate or servers than state

without a subminimum wage (19.4 percent vs. 13.6 percent)

Because servers are 71 percent emale,19 this poverty burde

alls disproportionately on women.

Raising the tipped minimum wage is a simple step to addres

both the inadequacy and the inequity o pay or women wor

ing in the restaurant industry. Indexing the ederal subminmum wage or tipped workers at 70 percent o the norma

minimum wage o $7.25 would set the tipped minimum wage

ratio to the overall minimum wage at 10 percentage poin

higher than it was during the 1980s, yet ar less than the 10

percent ratio set by states as varied as Alaska, Caliornia, Min

nesota, and Montana. These states have eliminated the sub

minimum wage or tipped workers all together. An increase i

the subminimum wage to $5.08 would give immediate relie

to nearly 837,200 workers and their amilies (630,000 o whom

are emale tipped workers and many o whom live below th

poverty line) while also raising the wage oor or over 10 milion restaurant workers.20

Raising the subminimum wage to $5.08 would also decreas

the gender pay equity gap within the occupation by a fth

When taking into consideration that ull-time year-round

male servers are paid $17,000 annually and that their ma

counterparts are paid $25,000,21 raising the minimum wage o

tipped workers earning $2.13 would reduce the gender wag

equity gap rom 68 percent to 74 percent.22 Because women ar

paid so much less and because they represent a larger share o

the workers, the increase would benet women much morthan men, and help to close the gender wage gap.

12 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.13 Ibid. Assumes the same wage gap for a 40-year career.14 ROC-United analysis ofNational BKD Database.15 BLS, Table 11, 2010.16 BLS, Occupational Employment Statistics, National Cross-Industry Estimates, 2010.17 Ibid.

18 Allegretto and Filion, Waiting for Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage, 2011.Table 6: Poverty rates of all workers, tipped workers, and waiters by level of tipped mini-mum wage, p.9.

19 BLS, Table 11, 2010.20 Institute for Womens Policy Research (IWPR) analysis of Center for Economic and

Policy Research, CPS ORG Uniform Extracts, Version 1.6, 2011.21 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.22 ROC-United calculation based on a 40-hour workweek, 52 weeks per year.

cenTral challengesFOr WOMen WOrKers


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B. LACK OF HEALTH CARE AND PAID SICK LEAVE

These wage inequities are exacerbated by lack o benets that prevent

restaurant workers rom properly caring or their health and their ami-

lies. O the more than 4,300 restaurant workers ROC surveyed across

the country, 90 percent lack paid sick days and 90 percent do not receive

health insurance through their employers.23 One third o all emale res-

taurant workers (33.4 percent) lack any kind o health care, whether

provided by their employer or otherwise.24 More than a quarter (26.8

percent) o all emale restaurant workers are mothers,and more than one

in ten are single mothers,25 so the lack o paid sick leave and workplace

fexibility creates an additional burden or women in the industry.

Workers report that they have gone to work sick because they couldnt

risk income or job loss.26 Female restaurant workers report going to

work and cooking, preparing, or serving ood while sick at a higher rate

than male workers: 70 percent versus 66.6 percent.27 When workers are

orced to come to work sick, they risk aggravating their own sickness

and inecting those around them, including customers and coworkers.

C. SEXUAL HARASSMENT

More than one in ten o the more than 4,300 restaurant workers ROC

surveyed nationwide reported that they or a co-worker had experienced

sexual harassment in their restaurant.28 This is very likely an undercount.

A recent MSNBC review o Equal Employment Opportunity Commis-sion (EEOC) data revealed that rom January to November 2011, almost

37 percent o all EEOC charges by women regarding sexual harassment

came rom the restaurant industry,29 even though less than 7 percent o

employed women work in the restaurant industry.30 In act, the EEOC has

targeted the restaurant industry as the single largest source o sexual

harassment claims.31 Focus groups with emale restaurant workers in

New York32 and a review o EEOC verdicts,33 paint a picture o pervasive

and inappropriate verbal and sexual harassment and assault, with unen-

orced or absent sexual harassment policies and training.

23 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.

24 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011. This only includes mothers who have children at home.25 Ibid.26 ROC-United analysis of National BKD Database. These ndings are consistent with ndings from

the IWPR and the National Partnership for Women & Families.27 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.28 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.29 Tahmincioglu, Eve, Sexual Claims Common in Pressure Cooker Restaurant World, The

Bottom Line Blog on msnbc.com, November 1, 2011, http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/01/8565198-sexual-claims-common-in-pressure-cooker-restaurant-world (January2012). Review of data from Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

30 BLS, Table 11, 2010.31 Stumer, Mark, Restaurants Served with Sexual Harassment Lawsuits, New York Restaurant

Lawyer Blog, May 10, 2009.32 ROC-United, Waiting on Equality: The Role and Impact of Gender in the New York City Restaurant

Industry, 2010. Focus groups with female restaurant workers.33 National Partnership for Women & Families and ROC-United non-exhaustive review of EEOC

sexual harassment verdicts and complaints gathered by the Bureau of National Affairs, 2008-2011

MeThOdOlOgy

This report draws upon government data

from the Current Population Survey (CPS),

American Community Survey (ACS), and

the Occupational Employment Statistics

(OES), as well as from numerous second-

ary sources. In addition, the report includes

information from Wider Opportunities for

Womens Basic Economic Security TablesTM

(BEST) Index to measure the basic needs

and assets that workers require for econom-

ic security throughout a lifetime and across

generations (see appendix for details). The

data were gathered and analyzed by the

thirteen organizations who co-authored this

report: Restaurant Opportunities Centers

United (ROC-United), Family Values @

Work, HERvotes Coalition, Institute For

Womens Policy Research, MomsRising,National Coalition on Black Civic Participa-

tions Black Womens Roundtable, National

Council for Research On Women, National

Organization for Women Foundation, Na-

tional Partnership For Women & Families,

National Womens Law Center, Wider Op-

portunities For Women, Women Of Color

Policy Network, NYU Wagner, and 9to5,

National Association of Working Women.

Interspersed throughout the report are

proles of restaurant workers drawn from

members of ROC-United and MomsRising.

There is also one prole of an employer with

exemplary practices drawn from one of the

ROC Restaurant Industry Roundtables


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4

D. LACK OF SCHEDULE CONTROL

Scheduling and the lack o schedule control in the restaurant

industry are a signicant challenge, especially or women who

support amily members. The restaurant industry oten demands

workers work evenings, nights, and weekends. Restaurant work-

ers also routinely experience volatile workplace scheduling,

meaning that a worker may have to work dierent hours and

dierent days each week with no consistent days o.34 I restau-

rant workers must work late, they must nd someone to care

or their childrena scenario that is extremely challenging aschildcare centers are rarely open at these hours.35 Further, the low

tipped subminimum wage sometimes encourages managers to

keep servers stang a restaurant when customer trac slows,

sending home more expensive hosts or cooks, who are paid

the normal minimum wage or higher. Servers are let to oversee

a sparse restaurant with ew or no tips and just $2.13 per hour.36

cenTral challenges FOr WOMen WOrKers

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Policymakers should:

1. Raise and index the ederal minimum wage or tipped workers to 70 percent o the regular minimum

wage, and raise and index the ederal minimum wage or all workers as well.

2. Establish a national standard that allows workers to earn seven to nine job-protected paid sick days eac

year to be used to recover rom routine illness, access preventive care or provide care or a sick amily membe

3. Adopt legislation that would provide incentives or mandate employers to provide regular, on-going sexu

harassment training to all their employees, including managers.

4. Support ob-training programs that provide accessible, quality training to help women gain special skiland advance within the industry.

5. Protect workers rom violations o ederal, state and local equal employment opportunity laws.

6. Enact legislation that would ease the burden on workers regarding their lack o schedule control.

7. Publicly support collective organiing among restaurant workers.

8. Initiate and support urther study and dialogue on discrimination. More detailed inormation is neede

regarding the public cost o discrimination and the true economic protability o responsible business pra

tices in the restaurant industry.

34 Gatta, Mary, Literature Summary on Restaurant Work and Schedule, WOW, 201135 See, e.g., California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, 2011 Child Care Por

folio, 2011, http://www.rrnetwork.org/rr-research-in-action/2011-portfolio/2011-statewide-portfolio-page.pdf (January 2012).

36 Gatta, Mary, Balancing Trays and Smiles: What Restaurant Servers Teach UsAbout Hard Work in the New Economy, in Work Matters: Critical Reections onContemporary Work, ed. Bolton, S.C. and Houlihan, M. (London, 2009).


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Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United is a na-tional nonprot restaurant worker organization with over 9000

members in 19 states. ROC has published 15 reports on issues

that conront restaurant workers and has passed local legislation

and championed ederal legislation to better working conditions

in the restaurant industry.

Family Values @ Work is a national network o 16 state andlocal coalitions helping spur the growing movement or amily-

riendly workplace policies such as paid sick days and amily

leave insurance.

HERvotes is a coalition o womens organizations, representingmillions o women, countering the attacks on womens econom-

ic and health security through a new multi-organization eort.

The goal is to mobilize women voters in 2012 around preserving

womens Health and Economic Rights (HER rights.)

The Institute or Womens Policy Research (IWPR) conductsrigorous research and disseminates its ndings to address the

needs o women and their amilies, promote public dialogue,

and strengthen communities and societies. IWPR is a 501(c)(3)

tax-exempt organization that also works in aliation with the

womens studies and public policy programs at George Wash-

ington University.

MomsRising is a multicultural, non-partisan, online and on-the-ground grassroots organization o more than a million people

working to achieve economic security or all amilies. We ocus

our advocacy on paid amily leave, fexible work options, aord-

able childcare, and an end to wage and hiring discrimination,

that penalizes women and mothers.

National Coalition on Black Civic Participations BlackWomens Roundtable comprises a diverse group o Black

women civic leaders o international, national, regional andstate-based organizations and institutions. Together, the BWR

membership represents the issues and concerns o millions o

Americans and amilies.

The National Council or Research on Women is a networko U.S.-based research, policy, and advocacy centers working to

advance rights and opportunities or women and girls, nation-

ally and globally. The Council is a major source o knowledge,

analysis, and best practices or transormative change.

The National Organiation or Women Foundation is de-voted to achieving ull equality or women through education

and litigation. The Foundation addresses economic justice,

pay equity, racial discrimination, womens health and body im-

age, women with disabilities, reproductive rights, amily law,

rights o same-sex couples, media representation o women,

and global eminist issues.

The National Partnership or Women & Families is a non-proit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting

airness in the workplace, access to quality health care, and

policies that help women and men meet the dual demands o

work and amily.

The National Womens Law Center, www.nwlc.org, is a non-prot organization that has been working since 1972 to advance

and protect womens equality and opportunity. It ocuses on major

policy areas o importance to women and their amilies includ-

ing economic security, education, employment, and health, with

special attention given to the concerns o low-income women.

Wider Opportunities or Women (WOW) works nationallyand in its home community o Washington, DC to build pathways

to economic independence or Americas amilies, women, and

girls. WOW has a distinctive history in changing the landscape

o women and work.

Women o Color Policy Network at NYU Wagner is the na-tions only research and policy institute ocused on women o

color, their amilies and communities at a top ranked school o

public aairs. The Network conducts research and policy analysisat the intersections o race, class, and gender to inorm public

policy at all levels.

9to5, National Association o Working Women is a nationalmembership-based organization o low-wage women building a

movement to achieve economic justice by improving policies on

workplace and saety net issues that directly aect them.

Acknowledgements Photographs by Meghana Reddy and JimWest. Design by Quanci Design.

abOuT The repOrTcOauThOrs


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chapTer 1resTauranT indusTry challengesand gendered pOlicies

INTRODUCTION

The restaurant industry employs over 10 million workers37 in one o the largest and astest-

growing sectors o the United States economy.38 The majority o workers in this huge and grow-

ing sector are women.39 Despite the sectors potential to oer opportunities to advance womens

economic security, restaurant workers wages are alling behind the industrys economic growth

and women bear the brunt o these low wages. Moreover, women restaurant workers ace

issues o occupational segregation, lack o career mobility, discrimination, sexual harassment,

lack o benets, and lack o schedule control. All o these issues are explored in this report,

with particular emphasis given to the eects o the low ederal subminimum wage o $2.13 or

tipped workers. Chapter 1 provides a brie overview o the restaurant industry and describes themethodology used in this study. Chapter 2 delves into the many challenges that emale restaurant

workers ace in the workplace. Chapter 3 nishes by providing concrete policy recommenda-

tions or legislators, employers, and consumers to promote equity, dignity, and prosperity in the

restaurant industry.

METHODOLOGY

This report draws upon government data rom the Current Population Survey (CPS), American

Community Survey (ACS), and the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), as well as rom

numerous secondary sources. Data were also drawn rom the ocus groups, interviews, andover 4,300 surveys o restaurant workers detailed in previous reports by ROC-United, including

Bhd th Ktch Dooand Wat o eqalt (s Appdx o dtals). In addition, the report

includes inormation rom Wider Opportunities or Womens Basic Economic Security TablesTM

(BEST) Index to measure the basic needs and assets that workers require or economic security

throughout a lietime and across generations (s Appdx o dtals). The data were gathered

and analyzed by the thirteen organizations who co-authored this report: Restaurant Opportuni-

ties Centers United (ROC-United), Family Values @ Work, HERvotes Coalition, Institute For

Womens Policy Research, MomsRising, National Coalition on Black Civic Participations Black

Womens Roundtable, National Council For Research On Women, National Organization or

Women Foundation, National Partnership For Women & Families, National Womens Law Cen-

ter, Wider Opportunities For Women, Women O Color Policy Network, NYU Wagner, and 9to5,National Association o Working Women.

37 ROC-United analysis of BLS, OES, 2010. Food Prep and Serving (350000) NAICS 722 employees, plus 35-0000 occupations inindustries such as amusement parks, spectator sports, and gambling. This method excludes Food Prep and Serving Related Oc-cupations in institutions such as prisons and schools.

38 BLS, QCEW, NAICS 722 Food Services and Drinking Places, 2001-2010.39 BLS, Table 11, 2010.


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8

IndustRy oveRvIew: unjust condItIons, unmet potentIAl

Over hal o Americans eat out at a restaurant at least once per week,40 and 20 percent eat ou

two or more times per week, driving the restaurant industrys continued growth in the midst o

the current economic crisis.41 The restaurant industry provides millions o job opportunities t

American women each year while many other sectors continue to stagnate or decline.42

However, the restaurant industry oers some o the nation

lowest-wage jobs, with little access to benets and caree

advancement. In 2010, seven o the ten lowest-paid occup

tions were all restaurant occupations (s Tabl 1).43 The m

dian wage or restaurant workers in 2010 was $9.02,44 mean

ing that well over hal o these workers earned less than th

wage o $10.75 that a amily o our needs to remain out o

poverty (hereater reerred to as the poverty wage or poerty line).45 Indeed, people who earn the minimum wag

or less are highly concentrated in the restaurant industry

Thirty-nine percent o all workers making minimum wag

or less are in the restaurant industry. O all workers earn

ing below the minimum wage, almost hal (49 percent) ar

restaurant workers (s F 1).46

Low wages tell only part o the story; workers also lack acces

to benets and career mobility. Ninety percent o restauran

workers surveyed nationwide by ROC-United reported n

having access to paid sick days. Similarly, 90 percent repored no health benets through their employer. Under suc

conditions, it is not surprising that twothirds o worker

surveyed (66.6 percent) reported cooking, preparing, and/o

serving ood while sick.47 Workers also reported a pervasiv

lack o career mobility; as will be discussed in greater deta

in Chapter 2, occupational segregation and discriminatio

keep women and workers o color rom advancing to th

industrys highest-paying jobs.

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resTauranT indusTry challenges and gendered pOlicies

40 Rasmussen Reports, National Survey of 1000 Adults, July 21-22, 2011.41 BLS, QCEW, NAICS 722 Food Services and Drinking Places, 2001-2010.42 BLS, OES, National Cross-Industry Estimates, 2010.43 Ibid. Sorted by median hourly wage for all Standard Occupational Classications.44 BLS, OES, Occupational Employment & Wages, May 2010 (food preparation & serving-related occupations).45Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 13, January 20, 2011, p.36737-8. Hereafter, unless otherwise stated, poverty line or poverty wage

refers to the income below which a family of four falls into poverty as dened by 2011 HHS Poverty Guidelines. A poverty wage of$10.75 assumes full-time, year-round work.

46 BLS, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, Table 4, 2010.47 ROC-United,Serving While Sick: High Risks & Low Benets for the Nations Restaurant Workforce, and Their Impact on the Consumer, 201

TABLE 1

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the submInImum wAGe FoR tIpped woRkeRs: ImpActs And oRIGIns

Many people do not know that there is a separate subminimum wage or tipped

workers. Many diners assume that the tips they give their servers are a supplement

to their wages, rather than to compensate or a lack o wages. This section explains

how the subminimum wage unctions, how it aects workers, and how this law came

into being.

The ederal subminimum wage or tipped workers allows employers to pay as little as

$2.13 per hour to all employees that receive more than $30 in tips per month. The law

states that employers must ensure that tips make up the dierence between $2.13 and

$7.25.48 However, survey and interview data gathered by ROC-United indicate that em-

ployers requently ignore this requirement, allowing tipped workers to earn less than$7.25 total per hour.49 This lapse helps explains why 19 percent o restaurant workers

earn below the general minimum wage.50 More troubling still are the instances in

which employers misappropriate workers tips. Among ront-o-the-house workers

surveyed, 13.2 percent reported having their tips misappropriated by employers. For

example, tips may be inappropriately shared with managers or owners or other non-

tipped workers, and inappropriately withheld or illegal deductions.51

48 Fair Labor Standards Act - FLSA - 29 U.S. Code Chapter 8, sec. 203 (m,t).49 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.50 BLS, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2010.51 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.

i was a sv o 15 as ad

asd o kds o a svs was

pls tps. Dpd o oth popl

to tp o ca b th most stss-

l pat o b a sv. Th w

ma hts that i ddt v mak

oh to pa m babstt What

most popl dot alz s that sv-

s dot mak th mmm wa

lk most popl.

riTA, ida rock Bach, Floda

Figure 1rstaat woks a th last cato wth woks a at o blow mmm wa.

Soc: Ba o Labo Statstcs. Chaactstcs o Mmm Wa Woks, 2010. Dvd om Tabl 4.emplod wa ad sala woks pad hol ats wth as at o blow th pval Fdal mmm wa

b majo occpato op, 2010 aal avas, Food ppaato ad sv latd occpatos.Food ppaato ad sv s a sb-cato o all svc occpatos.

cOMpOsiTiOn OF WOrKers

belOW MiniMuM Wage

cOMpOsiTiOn OF WOrKers

aT Or belOW MiniMuM Wage

FOOdpreperaTiOn

& servingrelaTed

OccupaTiOns49%

OTher serviceOccupaTiOns

18%

sales & OFFice

OccupaTiOns16%

OTher

OccupaTiOns

8%

OTher

OccupaTiOns

7%prOducTiOnTranspOrTaTiOn

and MaTerialMOving

9%

prOducTiOnTranspOrTaTiOn

and MaTerialMOving

11%

FOOdpreperaTiOn

& servingrelaTed

OccupaTiOns39%

OTher service

OccupaTiOns

19%

sales & OFFiceOccupaTiOns

24%


14/40

10

In the absence o ederal action, many states have passed laws to protect tipped workers. Whe

state and ederal minimum wage laws confict, local employers must ollow the higher standard

Seven states have eliminated the subminimum wage or tipped workers, mandating that tip

must be paid in addition to the normal minimum wage. Twenty-six states have passed submin

mum wages that are higher than $2.13. In 18 states, mainly in the South, tipped workers ar

still subject to the ederal subminimum wage.52

There are 5 million workers in tipped occupations. While they include occupations such as haand nail salon workers, car wash workers, gaming dealers, and taxi drivers, restaurant worke

make up two out o three workers in tipped occupations.53 Two-thirds o restaurant workers i

tipped occupations are women (s F 4).54

52 Allegretto and Filion, Waiting for Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage, 2011.53 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.54 ROC-United calculations based on BLS, Employed persons by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (Table 1

2010. Food preparation and serving related occupations, separated into tipped and non-tipped occupations

FedeRAl $2.13 submInImum wAGe

pARtIAl IncReAse to FedeRAl submInImum wAGe

AbolIshed submInImum wAGe

Figure 2Map o tppd sbmmm wa laws b stat.

Soc: Dpatmt o Labo Wa ad Ho Dvso, Mmm Was oTppd emplos. Jaa 1, 2012. http://www.dol.ov/whd/stat/tppd.htm



15/40

The ederal subminimum wage o $2.13 helps explain why tipped workers are among the lowest

earners nation-wide. Five out o the nations ten lowest paid occupations are tipped positions inthe restaurant industry (s Tabl 1). Servers, 71 percent emale and the largest group o all tipped

workers,55 represent the seventh-lowest paid occupation o the countrys lowest-paid jobs, with

a median hourly wage o $8.81,56 well below the poverty wage. Not surprisingly, servers experi-

ence almost three times the poverty rate o the workorce as a whole.57 Many o these workers

are supporting amilies.58 Since their take-home pay is mostly dependent on tips, their paychecks

can fuctuate widely, impeding these workers ability to adequately provide or their amilies on

a consistent basis. Servers rely on ood stamps at nearly double the rate o the general popula-

tion.59 In a sad irony, many o the same workers who serve America its ood cannot aord to eat.

Since the vast majority o tipped workers are emale, issues aecting tipped workers are also

matters o gender justice. In act, the restaurant industry is one o the only sectors with a biur-cated minimum wage: non-tipped workers have a ederal minimum wage o $7.25, while the

predominately emale tipped workers have a ederal subminimum wage o $2.13. In many sectors

lower wages or women are partly the product o discriminatory employer practices, but in the

restaurant industry lower wages or women are also a product o direct public policy.

55 Ibid.56 BLS, OES, National Cross-Industry Estimates, 2010.57 Allegretto and Filion, Waiting for Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage, 2011. Poverty rate is calculated based on Census

Bureau poverty thresholds, which vary from the HHS poverty guidelines used above to calculate the poverty wage.58 WOW calculations of ACS, 2009.59 ROC-United calculations of CPS, 2010. Food stamps refers to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

08,616

2,9918,016

1,2092,924

13,2892,318

45,5761,146

1,2150

12,69023,426

25,25052,624

17,5465,512

54,99724,684

76,90438,088

pARkInG lot AttendAnts

tAxI dRIveRs And chAuFFeuRs

bAGGAGe poRteRs, bellhops, And concIeRGes

mIsc. peRsonAl AppeARAnce woRkeRs

hAIRdResseRs, hAIRstylIsts, And cosmetoloGIsts

bARbeRs

GAmInG seRvIces woRkeRs

dInInG Room And cAFeteRIA AttendAnts

Food seRveRs, nonRestAuRAnt

wAIteRs And wAItResses

counteR AttendAnts, cAFeteRIA, Food concessIon, And coFFee shop

bARtendeRs

numbeR oF woRkeRs At oR below mInImum wAGe

FeMale

Male

Figure 3Wats ad watsss (svs) pst two-thds o woks tppd occpatos pad was at o blow th mmm ($7.25).Soc: isttt o Woms Polc rsach aalss o Ct Poplato Svdata povdd b th Ct o ecoomc ad Polc rsach. 2011. CPS Org u-

om extacts, Vso 1.6. Washto , DC.

0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000

685,949196,012


16/40

12

Additionally, issues o race compound issues o gender amongst tipped worker

While a sizeable percentage o all servers live below the poverty level, pover

rates are higher or Arican American and Latino servers. Nearly 24 percent o

Arican American servers and 22.1 percent o Latino servers live in poverty, i

contrast with 17.7 percent o white servers.60

It is important to note that the subminimum wage has not always been at i

current low level relative to the general minimum wage. In 1991, the submin

mum wage was still indexed to the normal minimum wagethat is, when th

normal minimum wage increased in 1991, the subminimum wage increase

or tipped workers as well, as it had since 1966. Throughout the 1980s, th

subminimum wage stood at 60 percent o the normal minimum wage. In 199

however, ederal legislators amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to de-link th

subminimum wage or tipped workers rom changes in the standard minimum

wage.61 The minimum wage has increased several times over the last 20 year

while the last time the subminimum wage changed was in 1991. In that tim

the subminimum wages value has allen 40 percent in real terms, making it

wildly outdated pay rate or working amilies across the country.62


Figure 4Th la majot o woks tppd occpatos mpactd b th sbmmm wa o $2.13 a wom.

Soc: rOC-utd calclatos basd o BLS, emplod psos b dtald dst, sx, ac, ad Hspac o Lato thct (Tabl 11),

2010. Food ppaato ad sv latd occpatos, spaatd to tppd ad o-tppd occpatos.

gender cOMpOsiTiOn

OF nOn-Tipped resTauranT

WOrKers WiTh $7.25

Federal MiniMuM Wage

gender cOMpOsiTiOn

OF Tipped resTauranT

WOrKers WiTh $2.13 Federal

subMiniMuM Wage

Men52%

WOMen48%

Men34% WOMen

66%

60 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011. White servers exclude Hispanics.61 Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-151, 3, 91; Stat. 1249 (1977) (codied as

amended at 29 U.S.C. 203(m)) (raising the tipped worker minimum wage to 60% of the full minimumwage in 1980). Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-188, 2105(b), 110 Stat. 1929(1996) (codied as amended at 29 U.S.C. 203(m) (tipped subminimum wage de-linked from the normaminimum wage).

62 The tipped minimum wage should be worth $3.54 in 2011 dollars to equal $2.13 in 1991 dollars. NationalWomens Law Center (NWLC) calculations from BLS CPI calculator, http://www.bls.gov/data/ination_caculator.htm.

The resTauranT lObbyand The eXclusiOn

OF Tipped WOrKers

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is the

industry lobby group that represents over 380,000

restaurant companies in America.63 According to

the restaurant trade publication Nations Restau-

rant News, in 1996 the NRA successfully lobbied to

delink the tipped minimum wage from the normal

minimum wage. The House Committee on Educa-

tion and Workforce passed an amendment to deny

a wage increase to tipped workers, at the behest of

the NRA. [giving] industry trade groups much of

what they wanted.64 The NRA gave over $90,000

to committee members during the 1994 and 1996

election cycle.65 NRA allies appeared in major

newspaper articles across the country criticizing an

increase to the minimum wage.66


17/40

The exclusion o tipped workers in the nal minimum wage bill o 1996 was the result o a

successul lobbying eort by the restaurant industry to pay restaurant workers lower wages (s

sdba, Th rstaat Lobb ad th exclso o Tppd Woks). Undoing the damage that has been

done to tipped workers and women would start by relinking the subminimum wage or tipped

workers to the normal minimum wage. Over 872,500 restaurant workers, 75 percent o them

women, would receive a raise i the ederal tipped minimum wage were indexed to 70 percent

o the normal minimum wage o $7.25 (or roughly $5.08).67 Furthermore, increasing the wages

or these workers would provide upward pressure on wages or the more than 10 million work-

ers in the restaurant industry. The next chapter delves deeper into specic issues that women

in the industry ace.

63 National Restaurant Association, About Us, http://www.restaurant.org/aboutus/(January 2012).64 Liddle, A. (1996, June 24) Associations urge Senate to retain wage provisions. Nations Restaurant News. http://ndarticles.

com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n25_v30/ai_18440459/ (accessed July 27, 2011).65 This is only a portion of the NRAs total contributions during this time period. The NRA spent nearly three quarters of a million

dollars on Congressional races during the 1994 election cycle. During the 1996 cycle, the NRA spent over one million dollars for allcandidates. In addition to campaign contributions, the NRA also pays for political lobbying. 1996 expenditures are not available,but the NRA spent almost 1.4 million dollars on lobbying in 1998, the latest year available after the 1996 minimum wage vote. ROC-United analysis ofCenter for Responsible Politics data, http://www.opensecrets.org (January 2012).

66 Jacobson, Louis. Tanks on the Roll, National Journal, 8 July 1995. (accessed from American Rights at Work, http://www.american-rightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/center-for-union-facts/page_3.html accessed 7/27/11)

67 Institute for Womens Policy Research analysis of Center for Economic and Policy Research. CPS ORG Uniform Extracts, Version1.6, 2011.

TerMinOlOgy

SEGMENT

The restaurant industry is segmented into three categories that vary signicantly with respect to wages,

working conditions, and workforce composition. Both the segment in which one works, as well as the

position one holds, signicantly determine earnings.

In this report, we categorize those segments as qk , fm t, and .

At one end of the spectrum, qk restaurants provide limited table service and are often

characterized by low wages and high employment of workers of color and youth.

Fm t restaurants include those establishments with moderate price points and informal

environments and include chain restaurants and franchises, as well as smaller, independently owned or

family owned establishments.

At the other end of the spectrum lie restaurants. Fine dining is often dened by a price point

of $40.00 or more per guest, including beverages but excluding gratuity. Restaurants within this segment

are also known for high quality service and chefs or owners with name recognition or notoriety.

POSITION

There is also a distinction in this report between workers in the fot of t o

and the k of t o.

Fot-of-t-o workers include all servers, bartenders, bussers, runners, hosts and other waitstaff

that directly interact with customers in the serving area of the restaurant.

bk-of-t-o workers include all staff, such as cooks, chefs, and dishwashers, that mainly work in

the kitchen and do not regularly interact with customers.


18/40

14

Caia mz i Roc ar a a g ag a ag i

rara ir. t g i ir, i a g iigra r

r ai i i mrr, mi. caia r r a rg ig

a a aia aa ai rara i ta. s ar $2.13, ii ag

i rr. ti rar a ir i rr ii aga ii ag, a aagr ai r r i. caia a

rr r i a aa ar, rara a a ir

$2.13 a ii ag.

s r r 40 r a , a r ai r ri. t

r ig i r. I a aa r 5 12a, a a

iig I a . si I a r r. la a ig

r , a a a i ra irar a, a , rag i , a ai, r- r, r, , gar, a, a r

a a r r a a, rgaiz a a. I a a r

r a rr, a .

caia a a $30-$40 a a i i, 5-6 a a . t $2.13 ar i ag

a a a a $10 ar a. s i a, ar a $160-$25

r . t iia ag a i i r caia g r g aa. wr a

ar a. I a a a $6.50 r a. I a

r aa. I r r 5 r, g a a. tr

a I a a a.


prOFile

CLAUDIA MUOz


19/40

o , rara a 24 r. o ig, caia a r rr

a ig. caia a r irar i ai r r raig, aig

a r r a. caia a a i, a i

a rr a a ii ag i i. maig, i a, a r

r r. Ar r, caia ara aagr, aig, I i irar,a r rr ar gig a. ca I r a a ? t aagr ra caia

iig fr. s r a g , a r a a

r .

t , aagr a caia a a ir ig. I a

ig a a ar. I a a r r r, a a i a-

ig ir i. ta ig I a a i 7a. A i, aagr a

a a . t a i $90. s a i a a,a I a I a a i. I a a $80 i i a ig. Ar iig r

a iar, a i, a I i $18. I r r 10

i 9a g I a 7aa ia aig aig, I a a

. caia a r ar i arig a ri. I i I a ig r.

s a a r, rar a ig ai aig a a.

lar, caia raiz ra ii ia r rr. tr r a

r i ir 50. t a ir, aii, r ig r a

$2.13 i a a a. I ra . I a lai ig, i

rig graar i, rig rig a. I a rai, i, a ag

i ir. erig I rr r a a a rri.


20/40


21/40

As introduced in previously, the eects o many o the restaurant industrys central challenges

all heavily on women. Low and poverty-level wages, occupational segregation, lack o mobility,

discrimination, sexual harassment, lack o benets, and lack o schedule control are all issues

o gender justice that are pervasive in the restaurant industry.

A. GENDER PAY INEQUITY IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

While issues o gender pay inequity are present in many industries, they are particularly harmul

in the restaurant industry, in which wages are already low. In the ollowing pages, the gender

pay gap, its consequences, and its causes are outlined.

FemAle RestAuRAnt woRkeRs ARe pAId less

The vast majority o tipped workers in the restaurant industry are

women.68 As these tipped workers are subject to an explicit submini-

mum wage o $2.13, the restaurant industry has become the only sector

in which a lower wage or women is a matter o public policy.

The typical ull-time, year-round restaurant worker is paid 79 percent

o what her male counterpart is paid.69 This inequity is unair, but it is

not unusual: the gender pay gap or all ull-time, year-round workers

is 77 percent.70 What is particularly painul about gender pay inequity

in the restaurant industry is that it happens in a context o already low

industry wages. Restaurant wages are so low that the gender wage gap

may mean the dierence between living below or above the poverty line

or women and their amilies. Median annual earnings or women in

the restaurant industry are about hal those o all ull-time, year-round

working women.71

Within the restaurant industrys largest occupational category, servers,

the gender pay equity gap is higher than within the overall industry.

The typical ull-time, year-round emale server is paid just 68 percent

o what her male counterpart is paid ($17,000 vs. $25,000 annually).72

The gender pay gap is even larger or women o color. Black emale

chapTer 2cenTral challenges FOr WOMenin The resTauranT indusTry

M moth wokd as a sv at a cha

staat o almost 20 as. i that tm,

sh has v mad mo tha $2.13/h.Dspt all ths, sh asd o chld o

h ow, sttch v p as a as t

wold o. Sh has wokd lo hos to

mak ds mt ad had to sacc patc-

pat ma o th vts o o chldhood

jst to kp ood o th tabl ad tlts

pad. it s a tbl dcso to mak whth

to spd tm wth o chld o to wok

lo hos awa om o aml to b abl

to o thm th most basc cssts.

CHeLSeA, Chcao, iL

68 BLS, Table 11, 2010.69 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011. Figures compare median annual earnings.70 NWLC, Poverty among women and families, September 2011, http://www.nwlc.org/sites/de-

fault/les/pdfs/povertyamongwomenandfamiliesin2010.pdf.71 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.72 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.


22/40

18

servers, or example, are paid only 60 percent o what all male server

are paid.73 The gender pay gap costs women, and women o colo

in particular, an enormous economic decit over their lietime. A

emale servers lose more than $320,000 in wages over a lietim

and black emale servers lose more than $400,000.74 When wage

are so low, lietime earnings losses o this magnitude can mea

a emale restaurant worker is unable to buy a home, car, or othe

basic necessities.

why ARe FemAle RestAuRAnt woRkeRs pAId less?

While dynamics that aect earnings are certainly complex, gender d

rectly correlates with economic outcomes. Accounting or dierence

in language ability, education, work experience, race, and positio

(between server and bartender), emale restaurant workers average

$1.53 per hour less than male restaurant workers, according to da

rom the U.S. Census Bureau. This gender tax was ound to be $1.6

per hour when examining only the two largest tipped position

servers and bartenders, and controlling or the same actors as we

as dierence between the two positions.76

Segregation, in two major orms, is a major contributor to the restau

rant industrys gender pay equity gap. The rst orm o segregatio

is by restaurant segment. The industrys highest earning jobs ar

concentrated in ne dining. Extensive survey research in cities acros

the country by ROC-United has ound median wages in ne dinin

ecOnOMic securiTy inThe resTauranT indusTry

Basic economic security includes the ability to afford

housing, utilities, food, transportation, childcare, health

care, emergency and retirement savings, and other

personal expenses. Individuals who are not paid enough

to meet these basic needs must pick and choose which

needs are met daily. Emergency expenses become tre-

mendous strains, and basic expenses such as food and

electricity can become a burden. Wider Opportunities for

Women (WOW) developed the Basic Economic Security

TablesTM Index (BEST) to have a clearer understanding of

economic insecurity, and found 45 percent of all Ameri-

cans live in households that lack economic security.

The BEST Index illuminates the extremely high levels of

economic insecurity in the restaurant industry. Eighty-

eight percent of adult servers who worked in the last

12 months had individual earnings below the BEST for

their family types. Of these individuals, 83 percent are

women. Ninety percent of female servers who worked

in the last 12 months had individual earnings below the

BEST, meaning ot of t fm w ot

o to jo oom t . Among

males, this gure is 74 percent.

Accounting for total household income, 73 percent of

adult servers lived in households with earnings below

the BEST for their family types. Eighty one percent of

these individuals are women. et ot of t

oo wtot oom t

wom.

Eighty-one percent of households headed by an adult

server have total household income below the BEST.

Women head 80 percent of these households; 51 percent

are headed by single women, and 26 percent are headed

by single moms. T t mjot of wom

to o oom t to tm-

t fm, m t mt ot

oo wt t t fm w foo

t t to mk mt.75

i jst had m st bab, ad h ath s ot th pct ht

ow, so im hav to do vth msl. its al mpos-

sbl to pa t, ca pamt, tlts, ca sac, ad th

cll pho bll o th pttac im mak. i cat aod to t

halth sac o msl ad m bab thoh m job b-

cas m pachck, v wh im wok 40+ hos a wk,

st oh to cov t. im v lck to hav aml ad ds

that a wll to watch m bab l o cha whl im at

wok Bt i sspct that ot all wok moms a so lck.

SArAH, Txas

73 Ibid.74 Ibid. Assumes the same wage gap for a 40-year career.75 WOW calculations of ACS, 2009.76 ROC-United calculations of ACS, 2007-2009.


23/40

are 24 percent higher than in amily style and 76 percent higher

than in quick serve.77 However, women, and in particular women

o color, are more highly concentrated in ast ood and amily style

restaurants than in ne dining restaurants, where higher wages

are ound. Nationally, women comprise more than 61 percent

o combined ood preparation and serving workers, which is a

position held almost exclusively in quick serve establishments.78

Research by ROC-United ound that among ne dining bartend-

ers surveyed, 59 percent were male. However, among bartenders

in amily style restaurants, a position with much lower earnings,

almost the reverse was true: 55 percent were emale.79

The second major orm o gender segregation in the restaurant

industry is by position. Women are under-represented in the in-

dustrys highest-paying positions, and overrepresented in many

o the lowest. For example, women account or only 19 percent

o ches,80 one o the highest paying restaurant positions with a

median wage o $19.53.81 And at the lowest end o the pay scale,

nearly 85 percent o hosts, almost 66 percent o counter atten-

dants, 61 percent o combined ood prep and serving workers,

and 71 percent o servers are women.82 All our positions areamong the ten lowest-paid occupations in America (s Tabl 1).83

Moreover, women who are able to obtain employment in ne

dining establishments rarely work in the most lucrative positions

within the segment, such as bartending positions.84

The segregation o women in lower-paid ne dining occupations

was borne out in research conducted in New York City, where

ROC-United canvassed 45 Manhattan ne dining restaurants

in 2007 (s Appdx o mthodolo). As shown in Figure 1, the

results were consistent with our ndings that women are under-

represented in the highest-paid positions, such as bartenders,

managers, matre ds, sommeliers, and captains. Men held 67

percent o observed highest-paying ront-o-the-house positions,

while women held only 32 percent. Men held 79 percent o ob-

served ront-o-the-house management positions, while women

held only 21 percent.85

This observation o 45 Manhattan dining rooms urther suggests

that the more elite the establishment, the ewer women occupy

the highest-paying ront-o-the-house positions. American Com-

munity Survey data rom 2005-2009 conrm this observation.

During this period, only about 10 percent o ront-o-the-house

workers in Manhattan restaurants were paid $40,500 or more.

However, the ront-o-the-house workers earning more than

$40,500 per year were more than twice as likely to be male.86

One barrier that prevents women rom obtaining higher-level posi-

tions is the lack o job training provided to women in restaurants.

Sixty percent o women in ROCs national survey reported not

receiving training necessary to advance to higher-level positions.87

77 ROC-United analysis ofNational BKD Database.78 BLS, Table 11, 2010. BLS information specialist conrmed that Combined Food Prep

and Serving, including Fast Food is almost exclusively a fast food occupation.79 ROC-United analysis ofNational BKD Database.80 BLS, Table 11, 2010.81 BLS, OES, National Cross-Industry Estimates, 2010.82 BLS, Table 11, 2010.83 BLS, OES, National Cross-Industry Estimates, 2010.

84 ROC-United analysis of National BKD Database.85 ROC-United, Waiting on Equality, 2010.86 NWLC calculations of ACS, 2005-2009. Ruggles, Steven, J. Trent Alexander, Katie

Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek, IntegratedPublic Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database], Minneapolis:University of Minnesota, 2010.

87 ROC-United analysis ofNational BKD Database. The rate for women was slightlyhigher than for men at 60.4 percent vs. 58.1 percent.

Figure 5

Th hhst pad postos d staats a dspopotoatl occpd b m. Postos a akd om hhst-to lowst-pad.Soc: rstaat Oppotts Cts utd cavass o Mahatta d stablshmts. Waiting on Equality, 2010.

cAptAIn

mAtRe d

sommelIeR

mAnAGeR

seRveR

bARtendeR

bARIstA

host

bARbAck

RunneR

busseR

FeMale

Male

0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100

gender in FrOnT OF hOuse pOsiTiOns


24/40

20

Maa pa ar rara r a ag 17 a a i a ai ai rara

a a r r 12 ar i ari waig, dc iig rara. A 29

i r r r, pa a rra iriiar rai

r r a arr ar i rara ir.

pa a ai ri iiz r ri r r a i a aag

ii. o ra ai, i a r r r r, i r rir qai

i a r rq r. o ai, maa ri: I a a

r a ig a I a a aagr . s I a r a a ar

I a rara i a a. I gra aagr, I ra a

r riii. I aagr a I a a i r ri. ca

a a a a aia aagr, r a, r ig ra? h r ar a

ir a a iig ri ia irig r ii. h I a

ir a I a ar aa a I ra rara a aig rgr

[t aagr] g a ir [r ar aia aagr ii]. A

a r aia aagr, I a rai a ! b aia

aagr r i .

Fig rra, pa r a ar rara r a ri

r aag. I i r i ra i a i waig [

ar ii]. m r a a i a aazig. I i gra aag

r i i a ra i i , i a ra riig. I i, I I g

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MAYA PALEY

cenTral challenges FOr WOMen in The r esTauranT indusTry


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THE LOWER TIPPED MINIMUM WAGEEXACERBATES HARDSHIP FOR WOMEN

When the ederal subminimum wage or tipped workers was delinked rom the regular mini-

mum wage and rozen at $2.13, policymakers inadvertently gave license to gender inequity.

The severely low ederal subminimum wage contributes to gender inequity in two ways. First,

as outlined at the end o Chapter 1, these predominately-emale tipped occupations have been

singled out or an abjectly low subminimum wage. Servers, predominately emale, are subject

to much higher levels o poverty than the rest o the population. The best way o illustrating the

impact o the ederal subminimum wage is to compare the poverty rates o servers in the 18

states that are subject to the ederal subminimum wage, to the seven states that have taken ac-

tion to do away with the subminimum wage, where servers receive the normal minimum wage

plus tips. There is no dierence between the overall

poverty rate; both sets o states have a poverty rate o

6.7 percent. However, there is a dramatic dierence in

poverty outcomes or servers. In states subject to the

ederal subminimum wage, the poverty rate or servers

is high, at 19.4 percent. In states that have done away

with the subminimum wage, the poverty rate among

servers drops to 13.6 percent. Servers in states that ol-

low the ederal subminimum wage have a poverty rate

43 percent higher than in states without, despite having

no dierence in overall poverty rates (s F 6).88 Be-

cause servers are 71 percent emale,89 this poverty bur-

den alls disproportionately on women. And because

emale servers typically are paid 68 cents on the dollarcompared to their male counterparts,90 the poverty bur-

den is even greater or women in the industry.

The second orm o gender pay inequity happens at a

lower level between workers in the same industry or

occupation. As stated earlier, emale restaurant work-

ers are subject to a 79 percent pay gap, and the gender

pay gap or emale servers, who are paid 68 cents on

the dollar compared to their male counterparts, is even

more exaggerated.91 With such low base wages and lit-

tle regulation to veriy that tips make up the dierence, actors such as segregation by position orsegment and discrimination in the workplace can have a substantial impact on workers incomes.

Raising the tipped minimum wage is a simple step to address both the inadequacy and the in-

equity o pay or women working in the restaurant industry. Indexing the ederal subminimum

wage or tipped workers at 70 percent o the normal minimum wage o $7.25 is a common-sense

policy solution. At this rate, the tipped minimum wages index would be only 10 percentage

88 Allegretto and Filion, Waiting for Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage, 2011. Table 6: Poverty rates of all workers, tippedworkers, and waiters by level of tipped minimum wage, p. 9.

89 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.90 Ibid.91 Ibid.

Figure 6Svs stats that ollow th dal sbmmm wa

hav a povt at 43 pct hh tha stats wthot,dspt hav o dc ovall povt ats.

Soc: Alltto, S. ad Ka Flo, Waiting or Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage, 201

Tabl 6: Povt ats o all woks, tppd woks, ad wats b lvl o tppd mmm wa, p. 9.

pOverTy raTes in subMiniMuM Wage sTaTes

vs nO subMiniMuM Wage

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

FedeRAl submInImumwAGe stAtes no submInImumwAGe stAtes

19.4%

6.7% 6.7%

13.6%

servers

all WOrKers


26/40

22

points higher than its index to the regular minimum wage during th

1980s, and ar lower than the 100 percent index in states as varied a

Alaska, Caliornia, Minnesota, and Montana, which have eliminate

the subminimum wage all together. An increase in the subminimum

wage to $5.08 would immediately boost incomes or nearly 837,20

workers and their amilies, 630,000 o whom are emale tipped worker

and many o whom live below the poverty line.92 These raises woul

also provide upward pressure on wages or the more than 10 millio

workers in the restaurant industry as a whole.

Furthermore, raising the subminimum wage to $5.08 would decreas

the gender pay equity gap within industry and occupation. When ta

ing into consideration that ull-time, year-round emale servers ar

typically paid $17,000 compared to the $25,000 paid to their male coun

terparts,93 raising the minimum wage or tipped workers earning thederal subminimum wage o $2.13 would reduce the gender wag

equity gap by a th, rom 68 percent to 74 percent.94 The increas

would add another $6,136 to both male and emale servers base earn

ings annually,95 but because women are paid so much less and becaus

they represent a larger share o the workers, the increase would bene

women much more than men, and help to close the gender wage ga

in the restaurant industry.

B. LACK OF HEALTH CARE AND PAID SICK LEAVE

Wage inequities and discrimination are exacerbated by a lack o ben

ets that prevents restaurant workers rom caring or their own healt

and the health o their amilies. Extensive survey research o over 4,30

restaurant workers across the country conducted by ROC-United ha

ound that approximately 90 percent o restaurant workers lack pai

sick days and 90 percent do not receive health insurance through the

employers. While both male and emale restaurant workers rarel

receive these benets, emale restaurant workers oten have greate

amily care responsibilities. More than a quarter (26.8 percent) o a

emale restaurant workers are mothers, and more than one in ten ar

single mothers with children under 18 living with them at home. Fmale restaurant workers are more than three more likely to be singl

parents than are male restaurant workers.96 It is important to note th

many women without health insurance through their employer als

all through the social saety nets, unable to attain coverage throug

a amily member or a public plan and unable to aord a private plan


Figure 7ras th Tppd Mmm Wa to $5.08Wold ras Was o Mo Tha 837,000

Woks ad Th ot o Fo Wold B Wom.Soc: isttt o Woms Polc rsach aalss

o Ct Poplato Sv data povdd b th Cto ecoomc ad Polc rsach. 2011. CPS Org

uom extacts, Vso 1.6. Washto, DC.

i was a d hos watss [

Oo ad Caloa] o ov 20 as

ad mad [th ll] mmm wa,

PLuS tps. i i had ot mad th stat

mmm wa i wold ot hav b

abl to as m 3 chld adqatl.

Bcas m tps w o top o a dcthol wa i was abl to kp m had

abov wat ad hav a dct l.

CASey, Slvto, CO

Men25%

WOMen75%

WOrKers ThaT WOuld receive

a raise WiTh Tipped subMinuM Wage

increase TO $5.08

92 IWPR analysis of Center for Economic and Policy Research, CPS ORG Uniform Extracts, Versi1.6, 2011.

93 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.94 ROC-United calculations based on a 40-hour workweek, 52 weeks per year.95 Ibid.96 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.


27/40

Current Population Survey (CPS) data reveal that one third o all emale restaurant workers (33.4

percent) lack any kind o health care, rom their employer or otherwise.97

Low wages, lack o paid sick days, and lack o health insurance make it unaordable or many

workers, particularly mothers with child-rearing expenses, to obtain timely medical care, to stay

home sick or to stay home to take care o a child. Female restaurant workers surveyed reported

going to work and cooking, preparing, or serving ood while sick at a higher rate than male work-

ers: 70 percent versus 66.6 percent.98 In interviews, workers reported that they have gone to work

sick because they could not risk income or job loss. Workers reported that, without job-protected

paid sick days, restaurant workers are oten red simply or becoming ill.99

Working sick has alarming consequences or workers, their coworkers, managers, owners and

restaurant customers. When workers are orced to come to work sick, they can risk aggravating

their own sickness and inecting those around them, including the public.

C. SEXUAL HARASSMENT

More than one in ten o the more than 4,300 restaurant workers ROC-United surveyed nationwide

reported that they or a co-worker had experienced sexual harassment in their restaurant.100 This

gure is very likely an undercount. A recent MSNBC review o Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC) data revealed that rom January to November 2011, almost 37 percent o

all EEOC charges by women regarding sexual harassment came rom the restaurant industry,101

even though less than 7 percent o women work in the restaurant industry.102 In act, the Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission has targeted the restaurant industry as the single larg-

est source o sexual harassment claims.103

Focus groups ROC-United conducted with emale restaurant workers in New York and interviews

with emale restaurant workers nationwide indicate that sexual harassment is an even more per-vasive problem in the restaurant industry than ocial statistics suggest. Workers armed that

sexual harassment was an accepted part o the culture, and that workers had to learn to accept

and cope with witnessing or experiencing unwanted advances. One worker said, Its inevitable.

I its not verbal assault, someone wants to rub up against you.

97 NWLC calculations of CPS, 2011.98 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.99 ROC-United analysis ofNational BKD Database. These ndings are consistent with ndings from IWPR and the National Partner-

ship for Women and Families.100 ROC-United, BKD, 2011.101 Tahmincioglu, Sexual Claims Common in Pressure Cooker Restaurant World.102 BLS, Table 11, 2010.103 Stumer, Restaurants Served with Sexual Harassment Lawsuits.

i was a watss as a o sl moth bcas wat tabls od fxbl

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a ood watss! Polt, ast, ad i pad attto to dtal. i dot dstad how

staats t awa wth ot pa th mplos mmm wa

CHriSTine, Fot Woth, Txas


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24

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prOFile

jUNE LINDSEY



29/40

Young women working in the industry are the most requent targets

and the least likely to be equipped to deal with the harassment. Several

workers witnessed male co-workers trying to kiss, pinch, slap, and

brush up against young emale workers.

Reports rom workers identied that managers were oten the perpetra-

tors o the harassment, and women said that in workplaces where their

co-workers engaged in harassing behaviors, managers did so as well.

Several women spoke about their managers inappropriately touching

them, making remarks about their body parts to them or to other work-

ers, and soliciting them into relationships. They were also encouraged

to be more sexy, by wearing tighter clothing, wearing makeup, and

firting with guests.

Female restaurant workers interviewed by ROC-United reported thatmany employers ail to adequately respond to complaints o harassment,

oten ignoring the complaint, or allowing other workers to ridicule or

retaliate against the person complaining. Management will shit respon-

sibility to the person suering harassment by, or example, discouraging

her rom entering the kitchen to avoid unwelcome encounters. When

women resist inappropriate behavior, their own behavior is scrutinized.

Many women said that when they complained, they were told that they

were being overly sensitive or too emotional. Others said that com-

plaints resulted in ewer shits or removal rom the schedule.104

Many workers were not able to identiy sexual harassment policies intheir workplaces, and nobody was able to recall an orientation or train-

ing on the policy. When a policy existed, there was no adherence or en-

orcement. As one woman put it, They supposedly had a zero-tolerance

[policy], but I say they had 100 percent tolerance because it [happened]

every day.105

Th s sd to sxall haass m ad oth

wom wok th ktch. Th wold pass vla

ad osv maks ot o th ch o maa.

Ad th maa wold do oth. i had to qt m

job bcas o that. ev m maas had o spct

o m ad wold toch m appopatl.

FeMALe COOK

seXual harassMenT cases

A review106 of the last four years of EEOC sexual

harassment settlements and verdicts in the

restaurant industry found over 25 major cases

from 18 states in every region of the country,

leading to $15.4 million in settlements and dam-

ages awarded to over 219 women workers. All

of the cases involved sexual harassment and a

hostile working environment, and 50 percent ofthe cases involved some form of sexual assault,

including pulling hair, groping, biting, hugging,

kissing, and other forms of unwelcome sexual

contact. Two of the cases, one at a Taco Bell, the

other at a Hometown Buffet, involved multiple

instances of rape. Cases were led primarily

against well-known quick serve and family style

chains, including McDonalds, KFC, Sonic, IHOP,

Applebees, Cracker Barrel, Ruby Tuesday, and

Dennys. McDonalds was named in 16 percent

of the cases, including possibly the most egre-

gious one, where an 18-year-old employee was

strip-searched and assaulted for several hours by

staff and management at the behest of a caller

impersonating a police ofcer. Eighty-eight per-

cent of the cases involved abuse and harassment

by management, and co-workers were cited in 24

percent of the cases. In most instances, workers

were abused and harassed on a daily basis and

faced some form of retaliation for complaining.

104 ROC-United, Waiting on Equality, 2010. Focus groups with female restaurant workers.105 Ibid.106 National Partnership for Women & Families and ROC-United non-exhaustive review of EEOC sexual harassment

verdicts and complaints gathered by the Bureau of National Affairs, 2008-2011


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26

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eMplOyer prOFile

DIEP TRANChe-Owner, Good Girl Dinette, Los Angeles, CA



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D. LACK OF SCHEDULE CONTROL

Directly related to low pay or emale restaurant workers are scheduling prac-

tices that are characteristic o the industry. Many emale restaurant workers,

like women throughout our labor market, are responsible or caring or chil-

dren and other amily members; many o these women are single parents

and sole caregivers or their amilies. However, the ways that schedules are

oten determined create signicant challenges or workers. First, the restau-

rant industry oten demands workers work evenings, nights, weekends, and

other non-traditional hours, as these tend to be busy times at the restaurants.

Second, restaurant workers routinely experience volatile workplace

schedulinga situation where both the number o hours and the tim-

ing o those hours can change day-to-day, week-to-week, and season-to-

season at the discretion o management. Compounding this challenge

is the act that schedules are oten posted with little advance notice. For

instance, restaurants oten post schedules on the Thursday or Friday

o the week, and this upcoming schedule begins just a day or so later

on Sunday.107 One study ound that among shit workers, 30 percent o

workers report variable start and end times, and 10 percent do not have

a weekly schedule.108 And managers can make last-minute changes to

the work schedule once it is posted i it appears that customer tra-

c may be higher or lower than anticipated. For example, managers

may send a worker home i the establishment is not busy, or add on

shits i it looks like it will be busy. Participant observation research o

restaurant servers has ound that many servers are scheduled as BD

shits. This means that their workday ends at the discretion o man-agement, when business declines. I there are no or ew customers,

servers are cut early; i the restaurant remains busy, workers will be

expected to stay at work. As one server told her daughter: I only know

when I am to come into work, not when I am going to leave.109 This

unpredictability and just-in time scheduling110 means that a worker

may have to work dierent hours and dierent days each week with

no consistent days o.111

Scheduling practices translate into signicant challenges or workers.

I restaurant workers are orced to work late, they must have someone

available to care or their children or provide needed medication to a parentascenario that is almost never a reality or many women in the restaurant indus-

107 Lambert, S. J., Passing the buck: Labor exibility practices that transfer risk onto hourly workers, HumanRelations 61(9): 12031227, 2008.

108 Golden, L., Flexible work schedules: Which workers get them? American Behavioral Scientist, 44(7),11571178, 2001. doi: 10.1177/00027640121956700

109 Gatta, Mary L.,Juggling Food and Feelings: Emotional Balance in Restaurant Work (Lexington Press: Lan-ham, MD, 2002); Gatta, Balancing Trays and Smiles, 2009.

110 Williams, J. C. & Huang, P. (2011). Improving work-life t in hourly jobs: An underutilized cost-cutting strat-egy in a globalized world, 2011. The Center for Worklife Law, http://worklifelaw.org/pubs/ImprovingWork-LifeFit.pdf (January 2012).

111 Gatta, Literature Summary on Restaurant Work and Schedule, 2011.

M mom was a staat wok soll

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cot h tps at th d o th da ad

whth i cold s p o at school

actvts [o b w ts shos] wold

dpd o th ost o h cstoms.

Ot, i wold hav to watch msl at

school. Som das h cstoms w

os. Ma das th w ot M

mom dsvd th sam mmm wa as

a oth ctz. H chld dsvd th

aat o a mmm wa.

CAuSe, Sattl, WA


32/40


33/40

Our research demonstrates that the restaurant industry, one o the largest and astest-growing

sectors o the U.S. economy, has the potential to provide women with livable wages and oppor-

tunities to support themselves and their amilies. Unortunately, with notable exceptions, the

industry as a whole is not currently meeting this potential. While some responsible employers

provide livable wages, benets, and opportunities or advancement or women, on the whole,

women are highly underrepresented in the industrys ew livable-wage jobs and ace hostile

working conditions which bar them rom gaining economic sel-suciency and equality. Whileemployers must be committed to raising workplace standards in order to ensure airness and

equality, additional public policy measures are needed to advance women and to help the indus-

try ulll its potential. Government and regulatory agencies must also commit to leveling the

playing eld by supporting responsible employers and setting higher standards or the industry.

POLICYMAKERS SHOULD

1Raise and index the ederal subminimum wage or tipped workers to at least 70 percent o the

regular minimum wage, and raise and index the ederal minimum wage or all workers as well.

Raising the ederal tipped minimum wage and indexing it to the overall ederal minimum wagewould both reduce the gender wage equity gap in the restaurant and immediately raise wages

or millions o workers. Raising the minimum wage or all workers would help draw many

more workers, men and women, out o poverty.

2Establish a national standard that allows workers to earn seven to nine ob-protected paid sick

days each year to be used to recover rom their own routine illness, access preventive care, or

provide care or a sick amily member. The lack o benets such as paid sick days has a greater

negative impact on women than men. Requiring paid sick days o all employers would level

the playing eld or responsible employers who currently provide these important benets.

Similarly, national health care reorm is essential to allow women working in the restaurant

industry to care or themselves and their amilies and not incur unsustainable medical debt.

3Adopt legislation that would provide incentives or mandate employers to provide regular, on-

going sexual harassment training with all their employees, including managers.

4Support ob-training programs that provide accessible, quality training to help women gain

special skills needed to advance within the industry.

Provide incentives to employers that provide on-the-job or off-premise training of this

nature.

Fund training programs for underrepresented populations to obtain skills necessary to

advance to living-wage positions within the industry.

chapTer 3pOlicy recOMMendaTiOns


34/40

30

5Protect workers rom violations o ederal, state, and local equal employment opportunity law

Assist advocates engaged in anti-discrimination campaigns through intervention and m

diation, encouraging employers to change their discriminatory practices.

Support penalties against employers who violate anti-discrimination laws.

Work with advocates to provide educational materials and hold events to educate employer

on complying with local, state, and ederal anti-discrimination laws.

Ensure that employers understand their liability with regard to equal employment law

and the consequences o engaging in illegal discriminatory practices.

6Enact legislation that would ease the burden on workers regarding their lack o schedule contro

For example, several states have passed show-up pay legislation, which requires employer

to pay workers a ew hours when they show up to work and are told they are not needed th

day, a common practice in the restaurant industry. State child care assistance policies coul

allow parents to keep their children in a regular child care arrangement even i the parent

work hours vary, rather than only providing assistance to cover those hours the parent workin a particular weekwhich can make it dicult to retain a child care slot.

7Publicly support collective organiing among restaurant workers. Governments, employer

and non-governmental social sector organizations should oster and support organizing amon

restaurant workers to improve wages and working conditions in their workplaces and publiciz

the public benets o these collective actions.

8Initiate and support urther study and dialogue. Discrimination is a complex and intricate issu

and it deserves ongoing discussion and participation rom workers, employers, and policymak

ers alike. More detailed inormation is needed regarding the public cost o

Documents

Tipped Over the Edge Gender in Equity Rest