i appreciate the data here and it seems quite detailed and up to date, and almost in regular english!

however, i think it would be helpful to spell things out even more. on one of your charts it says there is no state base wage for servers, but i thought the posters at my employer said $2.15 plus any amount needed to add up to $7.15 an hour after tips. do you know if this is the law?

i am also curious how employers are permitted to average employees' tips. is the employer supposed to subsidize what the employee does not make in tips to reach $7.15 an hour on a daily basis? weekly? monthly?

i also heard from a coworker that that the law is changing this year so employers will be required to pay servers a full minimum wage like everyone else, rather than supposedly making up the difference for any deficiency from minimum wage. (even though servers know that most employers will not pay the difference; instead they will force servers to declare the state-required minimum hourly earnings amount whether they made the tips or not. this has happened to me. one coercive rationale being that you're not performing well if you're not making at least minimum wage including tips on top of $2.15 an hour...)

so, can you verify that new jersey law is supposed to change, en***ling restaurant servers to $7.15 an hour before tips? and if so, when?

and do you happen to know whether this is expected to happen in new york anytime soon?

thank you and happy new year...