In communities across the US, people are "adopting" restaurant workers on social networks to help alleviate their hardships. During the pandemic, Allen lost two jobs, but this time she didn't qualify for unemployment insurance, she said. According to Jayaraman, 70% of tipped workers in America are women. As the federal minimum wage for tipped workers has stayed stagnant at $2.13 an hour since 1991, there are only seven US states that require employers to pay tipped workers the full state's minimum wage before tips. The measure, which passed in the House in July 2019 , would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025, and repeal the sub minimum wage for tipped workers.

Source: CNN January 10, 2021 08:03 UTC