With 62,500 tipped employees in Missouri, you'd think the press may be wondering why they have yet to receive the pay raise resulting from the passage of Proposition B (that was the initiative that passed with 76% support and in every county across the state).

The Blunt Administration is telling Missouri employers they only have to pay their tipped employees $2.13/hour, instead of $3.25/hour [1].  This advice directly contradicts BOTH the Missouri law [2] AND the Missouri Code of State Regulations [3].

The Code of Regulations states (this rule has been around since 1992 - aka the Ashcroft administration):

“Tipped Employee shall receive at the applicable minimum wages as set forth in this rule, except that the employer may claim gratuities as a credit toward the payment of the required minimum wage. The maximum amount of gratuities that the employer can claim as a credit is fifty percent (50%) of the applicable minimum wage rate.  In no event shall the amount of wages and gratuities and the minimum wage equal less that the applicable minimum wage, with the difference between the gratuities and the minimum wage being paid by the employer” (Emphasis added)

No part of the law regarding tipped employees [4] was changed as a result of Proposition B. (Sorry. You don't get to use the ol' "confusion of a new law" argument especially when the rules were those of the same MO Department of Labor now telling employers not to follow the rules/law.)

Keep in mind that Missouri employers, regardles of the blunderind advice from the Blunt Administration, are ultimately responsible for adhering to the law [5]. The penalties for an employer failing to pay minimum wage [6]:

Any employer who pays any employee less wages than the wages to which the employee is entitled under or by virtue of sections 290.500 to 290.530 shall be liable to the employee affected for the full amount of the wage rate and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, less any amount actually paid to the employee by the employer and for costs and such reasonable attorney fees as may be allowed by the court or jury. The employee may bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim. Any agreement between the employee and the employer to work for less than the wage rate shall be no defense to the action.

So what does that add up to? Let's do the math.

62,500 tipped employees * 8 weeks * 40 hours/week * $1.12 underpayment of wages * 2 (both backwages and civil penalty) = $44,800,000 liability to employers/owed to employees (or $5.6 million per week).

Wonder why the Blunt Administration would set aside the laws and its own rules? Click here [7]