PORTLAND (AP) — The Maine Innkeepers Association is backing an online effort to bring back below-minimum wages for tipped service workers.
Maine voters this month decided to increase the hourly minimum wage from $7.50 to $12 by 2020.
A group called Restaurant Workers of Maine has started an online petition to reinstate tipped wages while keeping the hike for other workers. The wage for tipped workers will increase from $3.75 to $5 an hour in 2017, and then increases until it reaches the wage for all workers.
The group worries it will lead to layoffs, increased menu prices and threaten Maine’s restaurant industry. The Maine Innkeepers Association says it’s working on legislation to reinstate the tip credit.
The Maine People’s Alliance calls such concerns misinformation and says service workers deserve living wages.
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