A barista isn’t a tipped wage position. Virtually only restaurant servers are paid the tipped wage. Just because they put a tip jar out doesn’t mean their hourly wage drops to pennies, you only get that wage if a significant amount of your income is from tips.
Legally speaking, baristas can be treated as tipped wage positions so long as the tips they accumulate earn them in excess of the minimum wage. Putting out a tip jar absolutely does mean their hourly wage can be cut. And thanks to common wage-theft practices by employers and negligence by local prosecutors, an employee who falls under the minimum wage has an uphill battle to recover the difference.
A barista isn’t a tipped wage position. Virtually only restaurant servers are paid the tipped wage. Just because they put a tip jar out doesn’t mean their hourly wage drops to pennies, you only get that wage if a significant amount of your income is from tips.
https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/wagestips
Legally speaking, baristas can be treated as tipped wage positions so long as the tips they accumulate earn them in excess of the minimum wage. Putting out a tip jar absolutely does mean their hourly wage can be cut. And thanks to common wage-theft practices by employers and negligence by local prosecutors, an employee who falls under the minimum wage has an uphill battle to recover the difference.