By Dan Eaton
Columbus Business First, March 28, 2013
... U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown made a stop in Columbus Thursday to promote the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would raise the federal wage to $10.10 an hour for non-tipped employees and raise the wage for tipped employees for the first time since 1991. ...
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already mandate a minimum wage above the federal limit of $7.25, while another 33 states and territories have wages for tipped employees above the $2.13 federal floor. Ohio’s minimum wage for non-tipped employees is $7.85 and the tipped figure is $3.93. ...
Mark Dempsey, owner of the Dempsey’s Restaurant, spoke at the press conference in favor of the increase, even for tipped employees. He said the restaurant industry is competitive and he already is paying his non-tipped employees more than minimum wage to attract and retain staff. Tipped employees at Dempsey’s start at the tipped minimum wage but are eligible for raises.
Speaking to me after the press conference, Dempsey, a longtime Democrat, said like other restaurant owners, he is concerned about rising costs on all fronts of the business, including commodities, taxes and health care, but rising wages are part of the cost of doing business.
“I have to pay more to get (employees) through the door,” he said.
Dempsey, in the press conference, said tipped employees can make good money depending on where they work and how much they work, but he also knows some in his own restaurant have had weeks where an entire paycheck sans tips can be wiped out because of the taxes paid on tips. He said his staff fluctuates between 17 and 25, with about 70 percent receiving or having started at the tipped minimum wage. ...
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