Tipped Service Workers Are More Vulnerable Amid Pandemic Harassment Spike: Study

In the best of times, service industry workers are typically paid below the minimum wage and rely on tips to make up the difference. Now, those still working in an industry battered by the coronavirus pandemic are on the front lines, enforcing COVID-19 safety measures at the expense of both tip earnings and avoiding harassment.

A new report from One Fair Wage finds that more than 80% of workers are seeing a decline in tips and over 40% say they're facing an increase in sexual harassment from customers.

"We were really shocked with how horrific the situation truly is," Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, said in an interview with Weekend Edition. "But I think the most horrific thing, that honestly all of us who are involved in the study were all blown away by, was the huge increase in hostility and sexual harassment."

The group surveyed roughly 1,600 restaurant workers in five states (New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania) and Washington, D.C.