SJC clears tipped wages question for ballot

Voters are on track to get the final say over whether Massachusetts businesses should pay a higher minimum wage to tipped employees after the state's highest court on Thursday concluded that a proposed ballot question is properly drafted.

"The provisions are closely related and share a well-defined common purpose related to ending the existing compensation system common to tipped industries," Kafker wrote. The national One Fair Wage group, which is leading the ballot question campaign here and similar efforts in Michigan, Ohio and Arizona, celebrated the ruling as"a significant victory for Massachusetts workers and voters."

Reform supporters say forcing workers to rely on tips for a major portion of their wages puts women and people of color in particular at an economic disadvantage. "The purpose of the law as derived from its provisions is not necessarily to increase compensation of tipped employees but to ensure that all employees in tipped industries are paid a minimum wage by their employers without such wages being subsidized by customer tips," Kafker wrote."The customer tips will then be available to supplement wages for all employees."

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Massachusetts high court rules voters can decide question to raise wages for tipped workersMassachusetts’ highest court has rejected a challenge to a proposed ballot question that would raise the minimum wage businesses must pay to workers who rely on tips, as well as permit tip pooling among both tipped and nontipped employees.
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