Pervasive sexism and harassment is, unfortunately, an open secret of working in the food industry. A 2014 survey conducted by Restaurant Opportunities United (ROC) discovered that 74% of women employed in the restaurant industry had been victims of sexual assault in the workplace by bosses or other co-workers. It was even worse when restaurant-goers were factored in: The report found that four out of five women in the biz had reported incidences of sexually harassment from customers.
As a result, an increasing number of advocates are urging that restaurants to ban tipping, as it could be contributing to the culture of sexual harassment. They argue that tipping culture puts people working in the restaurant industry—where employees often earn some of the most meager wages in the nation—in precarious positions: They are forced to put up with inappropriate behavior if they hope to push their earnings above the federal minimum wage.
Click here to read more about how advocates want to eliminate tips, and probably also high-tech tipping contraptions.
