(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A leader of Illinois' restaurant industry is offering an alternative to a plan under consideration by Chicago aldermen to end the so-called ''sub-minimum'' wage for workers who also earn tips.
The City Council's Workforce Development Committee is expected to hold a hearing this month on an ordinance that raise the lower-than-minimum-wage salary paid to restaurant and tavern workers and others while still allowing them to collect tips.
Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said a study for his trade group shows the higher wage level could strangle many mom-and-pop eateries.
He proposes a way to leave the sub-minimum wage in place: Quadruple the penalties for businesses that fail to make up the difference in tips for servers who don’t make the equivalent of minimum wage (currently $15.80 an hour). The so-called subminimum wage is about $9 an hour, before tips.
“We need to go after those bad actors and actresses,” Toia said.
He said if the council goes ahead with their own plan, he advises a five-year phase-in.
“And that’s a still a 12 percent increase in your labor costs,” Toia said.
Alderpersons sponsoring the ordinance and the group One Fair Wage released a letter from some 70 restaurant owners who say they are paying their workers more money and making a profit. Toia says they are just a small fraction of the total number of businesses.
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