If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

• Author: Luchini, Louis J.
• Position: COMMENTS FROM CONSTITUENTS - Letter to the editor

The February issue took a close look at the tipped wage in "The Tipping Point." But there are a few things policymakers should understand before making changes to a policy that is vital to both the livelihood of servers and the financial health of restaurants.

Making a policy change that requires restaurants to pay servers minimum wage is unnecessary; state and federal law already require that. And, more than 25 states, including Maine, require a cash wage higher than the federal cash wage of $2.13 per hour.

During the legislative debate in Maine to restore the tipped credit after it was repealed in a referendum, many failed to understand this central point: Servers and other tipped-wage employees by law must receive the minimum wage via cash wages and tips. State policymakers can supplement this protection further. For example, Maine calculates the minimum wage based on a seven-day workweek--protecting workers from extended seasonal lows and highs.

The article points to two reasons these protections are somehow insufficient: 1. the federal tipped wage has not been raised in conjunction with the minimum wage at-large; and 2. it is a law that is difficult to enforce. The first ignores that the law ties total compensation to the larger federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour. And if the second reason...