TRENTON, N.J. (PIX11) -- A rare standing-room-only committee meeting in the State House comprised of tipped workers, bar and restaurant owners, and leaders in the hospitality industry, virtually all raising their voices in opposition to a bill they say will have dire consequences.
The bill would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers in New Jersey, who currently earn $5.62 an hour, to match what most of the State's minimum wage earners receive, which is currently $15.49 an hour.
Tipped workers all make at least the minimum wage in New Jersey. If their tips don't get them there, it's on the business they work for to make sure they do, via a tip credit. The bill would phase out the tip credit by 2030.
Those opposed say that would lead customers to stop tipping while also forcing restaurants to cut staff and charge customers more.
"Restaurants won't be able to pay for bussers, or won't be able to pay for food runners," said Daniel Kilm, President and CEO of the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Corporation. "Or, it's going to be vice versa. There might be a QR code on your table and just a food a food runner making minimum wage is going to come out."
Many servers and bartenders who testified say they have made more than their managers or in their other careers, like nursing.
"I make almost double as a bartender than I did saving lives," said Melissa Gourley, a bartender at Applebee's in Manahawkin.
Nicholas Bisbee is a server at Bird and Betty's, a popular restaurant on Long Beach Island.
"Eliminating the tip credit is going to eliminate those special places where we gather for all of our momentous mile markers of life," said Bisbee. "I lost my father a month and a half ago, we went to a restaurant, you know? That's where you get together to laugh, to cry, to celebrate."
Democratic Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson is the author of the bill. She says the legislation aims to address inequities and protect workers from wage theft by guaranteeing them a minimum income.
"They deserve a raise just like everybody else is doing today. And it should be a non-negotiable," said Reynolds-Jackson (D-NJ 15th District). "Let's not forget, they still have to tip out to the person that cleans the table, that sets the table because if you can't do that and you can't turn it over you're going to see fewer people. So it goes back to the waiter that's doing the job to make sure that this restaurant is thriving."
The committee made no vote on the bill either way.
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