Biden could end the subminimum wage
The Biden administration might end the practice of allowing states to pay restaurant workers a so-called “tipped minimum” of $2.13 per hour, also known as subminimum pay. This practice dates back to hiring initiatives that took place at the end of slavery when employers would recruit recently freed Black people for jobs in the service industry, Mother Jones reports. Advocates say that increasing the minimum wage would greatly affect the women and people of color who make up a majority of the workers earning tipped wages. Included in Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package is a proposal to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, which would also eliminate tipped wages completely. However, not all Democrats are on board.
