SB416

Terrible bill for workers living on tips. Let them decide themselves

Testimony is for Non-Germane amendment.

Tips belong to the workers nit management

Pooling tips does not make for equal pay amongst workers in restaurants. The service industry needs greater overhaul to make wages equal; changing the language of this bill is not the answer. Servers will earn much less, since it's their wage that depends on tips. This bill to change the language in the state statute is dangerous, and will undermine the economy of many lives. Please do not approve this bill. Thank you.

I reject the replacement language

I use to work in the Food Service Industry for 25 yeàrs and worked around a lot of wait staff in those years and the very idea of pooling or sharing their tips is really stupid and crazy because it's true those people live day by day of what they make in tips. The reason why I know that is because I was a dishwasher, prep cook and cafe worker in my years so what your asking these people to do is really mind blowing. Wait people in restaurants get paid less than minimum wage and they count on those tips and yes they even have to report what they make that day and now your asking them to pool and share their bread and butter- YOU ARE KIDDING RIGHT!

When I tip I tip the employEE, not the employER. Therefore I feel that the employER should have no say in how I choose to tip.

I am a food server and have been in the industry for many years. My pay would significantly decrease if I had to pool tips. As a server, I am receiving gratuity based on my service- I dont want to have my pay impacted by the service provided by others. Please stay out of my tips!

No need or benefit for the employer to have a say whether tips are pooled or not. This bill would be hugely detrimental to strong hospitality staff. Would result in staffing shortages. I strongly oppose this bill.

I would make substantially less by pooling tips. Serving at a restaurant is an art. I make my own money by the level of service I provide.

To:Members of the House Labor Committee Re: SB 416 I am writing to oppose this legislation for the following reasons: 1). When I leave a tip in a restaurant it is for the service provided by the staff who waited on me. It is not my intention to have management determine whether the server gets to keep that tip or pool it. If servers want to pool tips, they are currently able to do that. 2). Where did the demand for this legislation come from? What is the problem it is trying to solve? Are tipped employees demanding that they give over their right to determine the distribution of their tips to managers? Hard to believe. 3). Finally, NH law currently protects tipped workers from, what could be, shenanigans of their employers regarding a significant portion of their wages. The state law should be left as it is. Thank you. Jan Schaffer

Hello, thank you for taking the time to read my testimony. I have been in NH gaming for 12 years, representing multiple charitable gaming venues across the state. In the past decade I have seen the industry take massive leaps, for better, and for worse. In a state that does not have the same workers rights as most other states in the country, I implore you to consider giving us, the tipped employees, some say in how we receive our income. If you take away our limited say then we will be powerless against these large corporations that have flooded the state. This is not a good bill for NH workers, it is for the businesses. Please leave the power and say of how we receive our income to the workers, and not the corporations. This will greatly affect thousands, including myself, and will only minimally support the big businesses. Thank you

This Bill is a way for the rich to get richer. People are less likely to tip well if they know that the person it is intended for will only recieve a small portion of it. I work in a casino and in casinos this bill keeps the money out of the workers pockets and keeps it in play so the casino can inevitably get it. To support this bill is to support corporate greed.

I think the current bill should be able to stand as is. Current statutory language gives tipped workers the RIGHT to agree or NOT agree to tip pooling arrangements without facing coercion from the employer.

Female

I support the non-germane amendment.

I oppose allowing restaurant owners to create mandatory tip pools in which they are allowed to share tips that are typically reserved for ‘front of house’ (dining staff) workers with ‘back of house’ workers (kitchen staff). Restaurant owners need d to develop business plans like any other non tipped business that pays their employees a decent wage and pays their share into social security. On top of this, if the tip pool did become mandatory, will we as consumers be informed either on the menu or by the staff? Even while the allows them to continue to pay ‘front of house’ workers a sub-minimum wage, this is in my opinion third world solution. Current NH law gives tipped workers the right to decide whether or not to pool tips and there is no reason to changes this. I'd be curious as to how many restaurant workers have been involved in developing this bill ? How do they feel about it?

Tipped employees should be able to decide for themselves whether to pool tips. This issue should not be decided by employers. Vote Inexpedient to Legislate.

I was a tipped worker for many years while obtaining my education. My employer varied by location of my studies and time of year. I provided excellent service and was often rewarded with a good tip. Other employees did not provide excellent service, and made less. If my tips had been made less by pooling, I likely would have found other employment, because I needed all of what I earned to survive.

Tipping should not be governed by the boss. SB416 is anti-labor and will hurt the workers who earned the tips. Please oppose SB416.

This bill inserts language that allows the employer to decide whether tipped employees must pool tips and which employees are included in the pool. What gives the employer the right to determine how tips are handled? Let's just pay workers a living wage.

Those who rely on tips instead of pay are to be in sole positions to decision make who they may or may not share that income with. It is their work that garners tips, and not all are created equal.

I support the non-germane amendment, which addresses a problem caused by the adoption of the parents’ bill of rights, which prohibited nearly all video recordings of students in public schools without prior parental consent.

Tipped workers work hard for the tips they receive. They deserve to keep the tips they have earned instead of being required to pool their tips with others who may not be willing to work as hard. This is unfair to hard workers!

NH does not need this legislation. Now tipped workers have the right to agree not to pool tips. This bill allows employers to mandate pooling. It takes rights away from hardworking citizens.