At Coffee and Cotton, covid has given us the time to take a step back and think about our values and how to make changes to live up to those standards. Starting this week we have a new 15% fair wage fee at Coffee and Cotton and tipping is no longer necessary. We are raising wages and fixing some of the inequity that is created by the tip laws in Massachusetts.
The laws regarding tips in Massachusetts are designed so servers are paid less than minimum wage and tips are supposed to bring wages up to the minimum amounts. This doesn’t always happen in practice. Also, only servers are eligible for tips creating inequity with back of house and anyone who has any management responsibility. We think establishing fair wages across our entire staff with is a better way to be fair and equitable.
There are other ways that tips are not in line with our values. Research has shown that the practice of tipping makes servers more vulnerable to sexual harassment from customers. Tipping can also be discriminatory in practice as tipping can vary based on race, gender, and sexual orientation.
Thank you to our customers for understanding why these changes are necessary.