Minnesota Restaurant Adds "Minimum Wage Fee"

On August 1st, Minnesota's minimum wage laws changed for the first time in nearly a decade. Minnesota has a multi-tiered minimum wage system that is based on the annual revenues of the employer. The minimum wage increased from $5.25/hour to $6.50/hour at "small" employers (those bringing in less than $500,000 in revenues annually) and from $6.15/hour to $8/hour at "large" employers (those taking in more than $500,000 annually). There were also changes to the "training wage" and "youth wage".

Minnesota is also scaling in more increasing over the coming years, with the minimum wage expected to top out at $9.50/hour (for those working at "large" employers) by 2016.

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As you can probably imagine, a number of businesses are not happy with these changes, including the Oasis Cafe in Stillwater, Minnesota.

The Oasis Cafe recently caused a stir when their customers started noticing that a "Minimum Wage Fee" of 35 cents had been tacked on to their bills.

Many customers were outraged at the charge and promised never to return. Others said that they supported the owner's right to add a surcharge to the bills in order to help pay for the minimum wage increases.

Representatives from The Oasis Cafe said that they are looking to "shine a light on this matter". Others have called it political grandstanding and that the Oasis Cafe should have simply raised their prices rather than adding a surcharge to their bills.

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What do you think of The Oasis Cafe's actions?

Source: Money.cnn.com - Cafe Charges Customers 35 Cent "Minimum Wage Fee"

Filed under: General Knowledge