Report takes restaurant industry to task
A report by a workers' advocacy group has found that more than 20% of Maine's restaurant workers earn wages that put them below the federal poverty line, but industry representatives say the report doesn't show the whole picture.
According to the study released yesterday by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Maine in Portland, 20.9% of restaurant workers earn $7.25-$8.45 an hour, which puts them below the federal poverty line. The median wage for Maine restaurant workers is $8.92, and 89.6% do not have health insurance through their employers. The report, which surveyed 525 restaurant workers, also found that more than a quarter of workers reported working off the clock without pay and not being paid properly for overtime.
Based on the report, ROC Maine recommends an increase in the tipped minimum wage, currently $3.75, and mandatory paid sick days. But industry officials questioned whether the number of people surveyed provided an accurate representation of the state's restaurant industry. The report surveyed about 1.1% of the state's 46,000 restaurant workers. Dick Grotton, president and CEO of the Maine Restaurant Association, told the Portland Press Herald that many restaurant workers do not get paid sick time or health insurance because they are employed part time.
The report comes about a month after ROC Maine assisted a group of current and former employees of The Front Room restaurant in Portland file a lawsuit against the restaurant's owner, Harding Lee Smith, and stage protests against the restaurant.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
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