A bar in San Francisco, in November 2019 (illustration image). - Pubinno / Cover Images / SIPA

  • Aayliah Cortez, a waitress living in Texas, posted a video of her pay: $ 9 for 70 hours, after deduction of dues.
  • She was paid just over $ 2 an hour.
  • The practice is legal in Texas, if the employee receives tips.

Nine dollars (8.30 euros) for just over 70 hours of work. This is the amount paid by his employer to Aaliyah Cortez, a waitress and American bartender. She posted a video on Tiktok showing the check she received, along with her pay slip. The video went viral after being republished on Twitter on February 11, where it has been viewed over 9 million times.

LOOOOOOOOL Americans have it tough pic.twitter.com/upuz0Uv1AP

- sabs đźš© (@sxbvna) February 10, 2020

The young woman worked 70.80 hours for two weeks, at an hourly rate of 2.13 dollars (1.96 euros), or about 150 dollars (138 euros). After deducting several social contributions and a tax, she received a check for $ 9.28.

"The importance of tipping"

"I didn't expect my video to go viral at all," said Aaliyah Cortez at 20 Minutes . I just posted it as a reminder of the importance of tipping, because few people know that it is okay to pay us below the minimum wage because we get tipped. "

Texas, where Aaliyah Cortez works, maintains an hourly minimum wage of $ 7.25 ($ 6.68), an amount that has remained unchanged for ten years. But the state provides exceptions for employees who receive at least 30 dollars in tips per month, as was the case for Aaliyah (she indicates at 20 Minutes having received several hundred dollars through this during these 70 hours). Their employer can take into account the amount of tips received to deduct them from the salary, if the tips are equal to or greater than the amount that the employee would have earned by being paid the minimum wage. The employer, however, cannot pay an hourly wage below $ 2.13.

Fear of the unexpected

The checks received by Aaliyah Cortez vary "between 4 and 12 dollars". She feels "lucky" to receive enough money from customers, but "this is not the case for all workers in the service industry," she says. Even I find it hard to cope. It's hard to think that if an emergency occurs, it can put me in financial trouble. "

For several years, fast food workers have been fighting to lower the hourly minimum wage to $ 15. A law was passed to this effect in July by the House of Representatives, but the Senate opposes it, reports Vox.

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