Is the tip credit dead?

Is the tip credit dead? It sure seems that way, given the way big cities and states are doing away with the credit. So, for this week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive,” I’m joined by RB Editor-at-Large Peter Romeo to talk about these things. Peter has been reporting on a rapid and increasingly successful movement around the country to do away with the tip credit, the sub-minimum wage restaurants pay to servers who get tips. This led into an extensive conversation about the rapid rise of service fees in the industry, an effort by the government to regulate such fees, and the impact on restaurants and their consumers. With the fees, the regulation and the decline of the tip credit, we wonder whether the industry is going to need another model for paying its employees altogether. It’s a fascinating discussion on tipping, service fees and the tip credit, so check it out.