The bad news about some restaurants:

[Smarmie Doofus]

http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/worst-restaurants-193800942.html


Ninety percent of the more than 4,300 restaurant workers surveyed by ROC reported their employers did not offer employees paid sick leave. Two-thirds of those surveyed reported that their employees routinely cook, prepare, and serve food while sick.
Rich Jeffers, director of media relations for Darden Restaurants, owners of the Olive Garden, the Capital Grille steakhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Red Lobster -- all of which were called out in the survey over possible illegal practices because workers there have sought help for discrimination and wage theft -- said the organization never reached out to Darden about how employees are compensated before publishing its guide. He noted the average hourly wage with tips for the chain's wait staff is nearly $14.50, and the average hourly wage for a busser is $11. He took exception with a survey of 4,300 restaurant workers in an industry that employs 13 million people.
Workers are entitled to a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour if they do not receive tips and $2.13 per hour if they do, as well as overtime pay, if they work more than 40 hours per week; if tips and wages don't add up to $7.25 per hour, the employer is obligated to make up the difference. But many workers aren't aware that they're entitled to payment for all of the hours they work, let alone at what rate, the guide noted. And a wage gap exists even among workers making the bare minimum that the government requires employers to pay. "Women, immigrants, and people of color hold lower-paying positions in the industry, and do not have many opportunities to move up the ladder," the report found. "Among the 4,300 workers surveyed, we found a $4 wage gap between white workers and workers of color, and 73 percent reported not receiving regular promotions on the job."
The guide, which was published in January but gained some newfound attention this week when the New York Times' Mark Bittman and others wrote about it, ranked 150 of the most profitable restaurants in the United States on how much their workers earn, whether they get paid sick leave, and what kind of chances they have for advancement. Darden's Jeffers said 48.9 percent of its restaurant managers advance from entry-level positions, and that the company is keenly focused on upward mobility for its employees.
A sizable number of well-known restaurant chains earned "zero" ratings because they didn't meet any of the minimum requirements for their workers -- and, contrary to what you might think, there are more than a few high-end fine-dining establishments on the list. Take a look:


Applebee's

Baskin-Robbins
Bob Evans

Boston Market
Buffalo Wild Wings

Burger King

California Pizza Kitchen

The Cheesecake Factory

Chuck E. Cheese
Cracker Barrel

Dunkin Donuts
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Hard Rock Cafe

Hooters

IHOP

KFC

Legal Seafoods

McDonald's

Outback Steakhouse
P.F. Chang's


Pizza Hut

Quiznos
Red Robin

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Sonic

Subway
TGI Friday's

Taco Bell

Uno Chicago Grill

Wendy's


(You can find the entire list here.)

[pipoman]

1. In the report

the #1 problem stated is:

1 RAISE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED WORKERS
$2.13 is not enough! ROC has worked with Congressmember Donna Edwards
(D-MD) to introduce the WAGES Act, which would increase the tipped
minimum wage to 70% of the regular minimum wage. 70% of the current
minimum wage would be $5. We are also working with other organizations
such as the National Employment Law Project to win a minimum wage
increase for all workers from $7.25 to at least $9.

I agree with this in general, but am not understanding the concern in the first sentence. Tipped workers in a decent restaurant are the highest paid people in the business. The tipped workers minimum wage of $2.13 is on top of their tips no matter what..even if they are making $20 hr in tips they get the $2.13. If they aren't getting at least minimum wage that everyone else gets ($7,25) the employer has to make up the difference between 2.13 and 7.25. This means tipped workers are actually no worse off than anyone else in the restaurant. I don't understand the seemingly higher concern over the 2.13.

[hay rick]

2. The problem is employers routinely do not make up the difference.

And the employees either do not know they are entitled to the difference or reasonably expect that the employer will find an excuse to fire them if they speak up. It is much easier for the states to enforce blanket higher minimum wage laws rather than relying on intimidated workers to come forward.

[pipoman]

3. Maybe..

it is a violation not to make up the difference. They are not proposing blanket minimum wages, there would still be distance between wait minimum and minimum.

I always wonder about the honesty of wage stats about tipped workers. It is standard practice in the restaurant business for wait staff to only report enough tips to bring them to minimum wage to avoid paying taxes on the tips.

[hay rick]

4. What I wrote, what I meant.

I didn't mean having a single minimum wage. I should have said that having a minimum wage for tipped employees that is closer to the full minimum wage would reduce the loss to employees if the employer didn't make up the difference. The narrowed gap would also reduce the employer's potential gain for that kind of intimidation/oversight.

You are right about under-reporting of tips. I've known people who admitted that was their standard practice. I expect that is common in higher-end restaurants. Still, two wrongs don't make a right.