Restaurant Bans Tips, Gives Servers $35K a Year
The minimum wage for tipped workers in Pennsylvania is $2.83. According to a recent Mother Jones article, up to 40 percent of restaurant workers live in near-poverty and less than 15 percent of restaurant workers have employer-sponsored health insurance compared to 42 percent for other industries.
“We’ve been watching the data all year. I put together what we have to do to pay the front and back equally and pay them well and give them a share of the upsides,” says Bar Marco co-owner, Bobby Fry.
All employees at Bar Marco will work 40-44 hours a week maximum—with two days off, plus one night, since the restaurant is closed on Sundays. On top of that, employees get 10 vacation days. Each employee will be paid $35,000 a year base salary, plus health care from date of hire and 500 shares in the business that will vest after three months of employment. Every share is worth $1 after three months and it increases in value as it matures.
“All of our current employees have seen and approved the contract,” says Fry. “They will have a lot of responsibilities, too—like being present at bi-monthly finance meetings. We want complete transparency. We want people who want to be part of what we are doing and who want to grow with us.”
http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/current-features/bar-marco-trailblazes-no-tipping-policy/
= new reply since forum marked as read
I know when I did the job I easily pulled $100-200 a night in tips. Even with taxes that made me better off than these waiters. I may have messed up my taxes though. 
Not saying I agree with tipping or the culture of tipping, I am just saying my own experience with it. I would likely be an exception to the rule.
