Servers make much of their money from tips. A Maryland proposal might change that.

Many minimum wage workers in Maryland are seeing bigger paychecks this month. Legislation boosting the state’s minimum wage went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. But the situation is different for tipped workers, like restaurant staff or bartenders. Tipped workers receive a base pay as little as $3.63 an hour, though employers are required to make up the difference if a tipped worker's base wage plus tips equal less than $15 an hour. However, some tipped workers and labor advocates are pushing to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, and legislation has been filed in both houses of the General Assembly to do that. We speak with the chief sponsor of the House bill, Democratic Del. Adrian Boafo, and Mahkaylah Monroe, a waiter at an Outback Steakhouse in Laurel, Maryland. We also talk to opponents of the bill, who argue a raised minimum wage is unnecessary and might endanger the tips waiters and bartenders rely on. Marshall Weston is President and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland, an advocate for the hospitality and food service industry. We also speak to Alex McCrimmon, a server at the Clyde’s American Restaurant and Bar in Rockville, Maryland.   (Photo: Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472