Many servers in restaurants and bars depend on tips for a living. Employers often pay low hourly rates because they know that workers can make it up with tips.
Aside from the moral arguments over whether that is an acceptable way for employers to think, comes another issue. Research has shown that a reliance on tips can allow harassment to flourish.
Workers feel they cannot afford to speak up
While employees in any industry may worry that calling out harassment could affect their wages, it’s generally not certain it will. While a manager might cut their shifts, or an employer might fire them for standing up for their rights, most won’t. If they do, the employee has clear legal recourses available, as retaliation for reporting harassment is illegal.
Someone hoping to get tips is acutely aware that speaking up when a customer harasses them will almost certainly affect their income. While there is a faint possibility a harassing customer might accept the error of their ways and leave a bigger tip than usual out of guilt, it usually goes the other way. Calling out a customer will usually lead to a reduced tip or no tip at all.
What’s more, the employee might face pressure from the employer or other staff to stay quiet. The employer might worry about the cost to the business of upsetting a customer. Other employees might be more interested in keeping the cash flowing into a shared tip pool (if one is in place) than the rights of their harassed colleague. Or they might be so used to experiencing harassment that they might accuse the complaining employee of making a big deal out of nothing.
Employees have a right to expect their employer to protect them when harassment occurs. If the employer fails to address the situation appropriately, the employee has a right to explore their legal options.