The city of Berkeley is considering raising its minimum wage. In his recommendation to the city’s Labor Commission, which has been studying the issue, Mayor Tom Bates asked the panel to consider setting special rules that could potentially grant an exception to the minimum wage for tipped workers. A final determination has not yet been made but, thus far in the discussions, commissioners have said they don’t believe tipped workers should be excluded from the new rules.
In an Opinionator piece published today, a local restaurant owner says those who back the idea have “no idea what they are doing” by raising the minimum wage without some kind of relief for tipped employees. “In the long run it will be pushing out opportunity as it financially squeezes small business, which will be replaced by corporate chains,” she writes.
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