Morinello attends Albany rally for tipped workers

Republican Assemblyman Angelo J. Morinello attended an Albany rally with the Restaurant Workers of American (RWA) and tipped-wage workers from New York state to voice their concerns surrounding the governor’s proposal to remove tipped-wages and pay restaurant workers minimum wage.

“Tipped workers are some of the hardest working people in our country and the governor’s proposals would only hurt these residents and their families,” Morinello said. “Current law states that if tipped-wage workers should make at least minimum wage between tips and their hourly wage, and when they don’t, the employer must cover the difference. These new proposals would add burdensome regulations on our local businesses and hurt countless employees in our district. Last year, public hearings were held on this important issue, but we’re still waiting on the results from New York State Department of Labor. I urge the governor to reconsider these proposals and for NYSDOL to reveal their findings to the public.”

Morinello represents the 145th Assembly District, which consists of parts of Erie and Niagara counties.

One year ago, in announcing a series of public hearings on this subject, New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, "Most consumers, and even many workers, don't know that tipped employees in many occupations make only a subminimum wage and rely on tips to feed their families. Tipped workers have a higher rate of poverty and face drastic wage fluctuations based on tips. I encourage anyone who would be impacted by these hearings to submit testimony to ensure we have a complete picture of how eliminating this subminimum wage could impact workers and businesses."