Let's get something straight - tipping used to be a reward for providing superior service.
Somewhere along the way, greedy employers discovered that they could reduce their own costs by cutting the wages of their "tipped" employees, making the "tip" a part of the wage structure. And since it is largely business people (in one form or another) who make it to congress to write our laws, they were able to re-write the wage laws governing the food service industry to reflect this cost cutting approach. Nationally, tipped food service employees typically make 2/3 of minimum wage. In Michigan, tipped employees are paid 1/3 of minimum wage, expecting that tips will make up the additional 2/3 of the employee's pay:
So the answer isn't to abolish tipping, the answer is to abolish a law that enshrined corporate greed by permitting employers to pay tipped employees lower wages. Restore tips to their previous status as bonuses given for superior service.
Somewhere along the way, greedy employers discovered that they could reduce their own costs by cutting the wages of their "tipped" employees, making the "tip" a part of the wage structure. And since it is largely business people (in one form or another) who make it to congress to write our laws, they were able to re-write the wage laws governing the food service industry to reflect this cost cutting approach. Nationally, tipped food service employees typically make 2/3 of minimum wage. In Michigan, tipped employees are paid 1/3 of minimum wage, expecting that tips will make up the additional 2/3 of the employee's pay:
"Tipped employees may be paid an hourly wage rate of $2.65 an hour provided they receive tips which combined with the hourly wage, equals or exceeds the minimum hourly wage rate listed above and provide a signed tip statement," Michigan Minimum Wage Law.
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