The Morning Report
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San Diego is trying to strike out ahead of the rest of the state to raise its minimum wage faster than California leaders planned. In fact, City Council members are considering how they might enact a hike without taking it to a public vote.
But that would complicate things for local restaurants with tipped employees. Take Bali Hai on Shelter Island, for example. Owner Susie Baumann has 45 servers or bartenders on her 75-strong staff. They receive tips on top of the minimum wage, to make an average of $36 an hour.
If the city goes ahead with the proposed increase to $13.09, those 45 employees would be getting an extra $5 an hour, 30 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. That’s a grand total of $351,000 a year Baumann would have to scrounge up, not including an increase in workers’ compensation.
In this San Diego Explained, Voice of San Diego’s Scott Lewis and NBC 7’s Catherine Garcia take a look at some other broad implications of kicking up our local minimum wage.