A Possible Change Coming for All Those Who Work for Tips

A new change could be coming for all of you hard workers out there who work in a field where you get tips.  According to the Times Union, Governor Cuomo announced this weekend that he will be holding a series of hearings in 2018 regarding the pay for those who work for tips.  Specifically, the hearings are to look at the minimum wage for tipped workers, and aiming to get rid of the discrepancy between minimum wage and the lower wage for tipped workers.  If you read the Times Union article, it seems there are a lot of legitimate questions.  Will an employee be truthful about the amount they made in tips to their employer?  Will restaurants stop collecting tips because the base wage will be higher? And so on...

I worked in restaurants and catering from the age of 14 to the age of 22.  I started out bussing tables and graduated to serving and waitressing.  I used to score big time in tips during the holidays, on weekends during ski season (as I worked in a ski town), and on other busy days.  Honestly, in those times, I probably did well enough in tips in those to make more than whatever minimum wage was.  I know that's not across the board though, and I know a lot of friends who work as servers, bar-backs, and bartenders that also have really slow times and survive off of that money.  I'll be interested to follow this story in to 2018.  What are your thoughts?