A proposed bill to guarantee restaurant servers minimum wage wouldn't change much for some student waiters' pay.

House Bill 219, sponsored by David Ure, R-Kamas, states that if a server makes less than the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour after tips, their employer would have to make up the difference.

Current law says employers are required to pay $2.18 per hour.

If the bill is passed, some student waiters admit it wouldn't affect their salaries at all.

"I don't think it would make a difference, to be honest," said Jennifer Loucks, a senior from Provo and server at Jacintos in Provo. "There are some nights I don't make minimum wage, but there are definitely nights that I make twice that, so it averages out to be more."

Several employers agree the bill wouldn't change what they already pay their employees.

"Normally our servers make above," said Leslie Straachan, a manager at Denny's in Provo. "It would have very little effect."

A difference in pay would depend on when a server is scheduled to work, said Brittany Hellewell, 19, from Provo.

"When I work certain shifts it happens once or twice," said Hellewell, who serves at Denny's. "It just kind of depends on when you work."

Several restaurants already have their own rules in place to ensure their employees make above minimum wage.

Souper Salad in Orem supplements their employees' wages every night if they tip out below minimum wage, said Sean Dolan, a UVSC student from Houston, and manager at Souper Salad.

Utah would not be the first state to up the pay for restaurant servers. Briant Frye, a UVSC student from Napa Valley, Calif., admits he made more at a restaurant in California.

"I was making more as a buser in California than I am as a server here," said Frye, who is a server at Jacintos. "It's kind of ridiculous if you ask me."

Frye also noted that in California tips are considered to be gratuity, but in Utah it is added on as part of a server's pay.

Some groups not affected by the bill are seasonal employees, employees working in agriculture, and students employed by an educational institution where they are enrolled.



Copyright Brigham Young University 17 Feb 2003