WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) introduced the Tipped Worker Protection Act, legislation designed to ensure millions of American workers receive their full tips in addition to the federal minimum wage. On the heels of Labor Day, the bill aims to correct decades of wage inequality by ensuring fair pay and financial security for millions of tipped workers across the country.
“It is unacceptable that in 2025, we operate under a system where the tipped minimum wage is $2.13 per hour – a rate unchanged since 1991,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “My Tipped Worker Protection Act is about restoring dignity to the service industry and affirming a simple principle: all work has value, and every worker deserves the security of a full, fair wage.”
The Tipped Worker Protection Act gives nearly 5 million workers a raise, creating a stable, livable wage for every worker. This approach makes tips a true bonus for excellent service, rather than a desperately needed substitute for fair pay.
Since 1991, the federal tipped minimum wage has been frozen at $2.13 per hour despite multiple increases to the standard federal minimum wage. This affects a wide range of professions beyond restaurants, including nail technicians, car wash attendants, and airport service workers.
The subminimum wage has created profound economic instability, particularly for women and people of color, who are 70% and 43% of the tipped workforce, respectively. As a result, these essential workers experience poverty at triple the rate of other employees and face the highest levels of sexual harassment of any industry, a treatment they are forced to endure to secure tips needed to support their families.
The Tipped Worker Protection Act directly addresses these issues. Specifically, the legislation will:
- Increase the tipped minimum wage beginning one year after its enactment, beginning at $3.60 an hour and increasing by $1.50 per year until it matches the minimum wage, creating a transition period for tipped employees and their employers.
- Ensure that all tips are retained by employees, whether they come directly from a customer or via a service charge imposed by the employer. Employees will have the right to retain their tips, regardless of whether they were received from the customer or distributed via a tip pool.
- Empower employees in tip pools, prohibiting employers, managers, and supervisors from participating in tip pools, and giving employees the power to establish and modify any system to pool tips in their workplace. Employers would be required to pay a full minimum wage to all employees before a tip pooling system could be established.
- Increase transparency for service charges by requiring employers to disclose to customers when any additional charge is added to the cost of a product or service. Employers would disclose the reason for this charge and the portion of the charge, if any, that will be paid directly to employees. Any portion of the service charge that is given to employees shall be treated as tips for purposes of Employer Credit for Social Security taxes.
The Tipped Worker Protection Act has been endorsed by the National Employment Law Project, the National Women's Law Center Action Fund, and One Fair Wage.
“Congressmember Hayes’ Tipped Worker Protection Act is exactly the right response to the affordability crisis faced by tipped workers and all workers - and the one tipped workers have been demanding all along, said Saru Jayaraman, President, One Fair Wage. “In response to HR 1 - which provides a minimal tax cut to tipped workers while cruelly taking away their Medicaid and food stamps - this bill gives them what they actually need: a full minimum wage with tips on top, and protections against the overwhelming amount of wage theft that occurs in tipped industries. It is precisely because they have a subminimum wage that tipped workers has Medicaid and food stamps at double the rate of other workers, and so with these benefits taken away as prices continue to rise, tipped workers need a full minimum wage with tips on top now more than ever.”
“The National Women’s Law Center applauds Rep. Hayes for reintroducing the Tipped Worker Protection Act, which will work to help close the wage gap and improve working conditions. In states that require equal treatment of tipped workers, women are safer and more secure at work as they are less likely to experience poverty, and they are less likely to tolerate inappropriate behavior from customers - which can perpetuate the already pervasive culture of sexual harassment. At a time when people across the country are already struggling to make ends meet and find stability at work, it’s overdue that we require employers to pay tipped workers no less than the full, pre-tip, minimum wage. We urge Congress to pass this bill without delay,” said Gaylynn Burroughs, Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice, National Women’s Law Center.
“NELP commends Representative Hayes for introducing the Tipped Worker Protection Act. Tipped workers need real rights and wages that fully compensate and protect them for the hard work they do. We are grateful to the Congresswoman for introducing this bill and stand ready to work with her to make it a reality,” said Rebecca Dixon, President and CEO of the National Employment Law Project.
The legislation is cosponsored by Reps Alma Adams (NC-12), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Andre Carson (IN-07), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Summer Lee (PA-12), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Dina Titus (NV-01), and Shri Thanedar (MI-13).
A one-pager on the Tipped Worker Protection Act can be found here, and the full bill text can be found here.
###