DOVER Del. Tipped restaurant servers in Delaware may get a raise if a bill approved this week by the state Senate is passed by the House and signed by the governor.
The Delaware senators approved SB 280, a measure seeking to raise the wage employers pay tipped employees. Because Delaware has a tip credit, restaurants are usually required to pay only $2.23 of the mandated $7.15 minimum hourly wage for employees who receive gratuities. Tips are counted toward the balance of the minimum. If tips fall short of the $4.92 per hour, the employer makes up the difference. That setup has been in place since 1987.
If enacted, the measure would incrementally increase employer's portion of the wage to $2.51 per hour on Jan. 1, 2009; $2.86 per hour one year later; $3.32 a year after that; and finally $3.57 on Jan. 1, 2012.
Local news reports suggested that the attempt to decrease the tip credit was prompted at least in part by a decline in gratuities. Many restaurants across the nation have been suffering a slowdown in traffic.
An official from the Delaware Restaurant Association was quoted as saying the increase in the cash wage for tipped employees will cost restaurateurs "thousands of dollars from their bottom line."
She also said the hike comes at time when state foodservice operators are having a difficult time and cannot afford to pay the increase.
