Service workers and restaurant owners who say tipped employees have been left behind in Maryland’s recent minimum wage increase renewed a fight this week to end the state’s $3.63 tipped wage. The legislation they’re backing — which stalled a year ago and faces an uphill battle again in the Maryland General Assembly — would prohibit employers from paying workers the special lower-tier wage, which is allowed as long as those earnings combined with customers’ tips match or exceed the $15 state minimum wage.
