'The Kindness of Strangers': The Tip and the Minimum Wage in France, Germany, and the United States

International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Vol. 32, 2016, Forthcoming

36 Pages Posted: 10 Oct 2015

See all articles by Matthew Finkin

Matthew Finkin

University of Illinois College of Law

Date Written: October 9, 2015

Abstract

A large number of employees work for tips; but the tip is an ambiguous institution – in economics, ethics, social practice, and law. This article explores those ambiguities in three countries – France, Germany, and the United States. In all three serious efforts were mounted to suppress the tip. In all three those efforts failed. And all three eventually legislated a minimum wage. But the status of the customer’s tip as the employer’s wage varies in each. This essay explores how that has come about and why it is so.

Suggested Citation

Finkin, Matthew W., 'The Kindness of Strangers': The Tip and the Minimum Wage in France, Germany, and the United States (October 9, 2015). International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Vol. 32, 2016, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2671840

Matthew W. Finkin (Contact Author)

University of Illinois College of Law ( email )

504 E. Pennsylvania Avenue
Champaign, IL 61820
United States

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