Cuomo asks NY Labor Department to eliminate subminimum wage for various tipped workers

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Tuesday that he has directed the state’s Labor Department to end businesses’ subminimum wage for more than 70,000 tipped workers.

The order will apply to “miscellaneous” industries, according to the governor’s office, including nail salon workers, car wash employees, valet parking attendants, tow-truck drivers, tour guides, dog groomers and door-people.

The order will be phased in over the next year, with the difference between minimum wage and current tip wages cut in half on June 30 and completely eliminated as of Dec. 31, 2020.

Cuomo cited a recent report from the state Department of Labor that found the current tipping system disproportionately hurts woman, minority and/or immigrant workers, and that workers in the “miscellaneous” categories are frequently confused as to whether they are eligible for minimum wage.

“[A]fter an exhaustive investigation conducted by the Department of Labor, it’s clear the tip system in many situations is needlessly complicated, allowing unscrupulous businesses to flout our nation-leading minimum wage laws and robbing workers of the paycheck they earned. That ends now,” Cuomo said in a statement.

“Today, I am directing the labor department to put an end to the tip credit in the industries with the highest risk of wage theft to help restore fairness for workers, many of whom are critical to the service industries that keep our economy moving forward,” he added.

The order comes the same day that a $15 minimum wage is set to be fully phased in throughout New York City, set to expand throughout the state in 2020.