The latest attempt by state legislators to set a new minimum wage for restaurant workers is under way.

Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, D-East Elmhurst, and Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-New York City, have introduced the Restaurant and Restaurant Worker Recovery Act of 2022 (A.9897/S.8386) that creates a $50 million Restaurant and Restaurant Worker Fund loan program overseen by the state labor commissioner and state comptroller to restaurants that pay a full minimum wage plus tips to its workers.

New York’s $13.20 basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate is the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, dwarfing the federal rate of $7.25. Only seven states — Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — require employers to pay tipped employees the full state minimum wage before tips.

From January 2020 to January 2022, New York lost 140,500 restaurant jobs, or 14.5%. Gonzalez-Rojas says that slow rebound from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic is due in part to the subminimum wage. Much of that job loss can be seen in New York City, as smaller counties are seeing much faster hiring in the restaurant industry.

“The subminimum wage is an antiquated system that contributes to a gender and racial wage gap, increased harassment and poor work conditions,” Gonzalez-Rojas and Hoylman wrote in their legislative justification.

“In the last couple of years, we have witnessed the consequence of expecting restaurant workers to take on more responsibility and harder work environments without stability in pay: tens of thousands of restaurant workers have left the industry. A recent survey found that of those who remain, 53% of New York restaurant workers say they are also considering leaving the industry; 70% say it is due to low wages and tips, and 80% say they will only return with a full minimum wage and tips on top.”

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, told AMNY in January that additional federal aid was needed to help the city’s restaurants get back on their feet. Only one-third of the state’s restaurants received funding from the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund before it ran out of money.

Gonzalez-Rojas and Hoylman are pushing a different way forward, using a higher state money for restaurants choosing to adopt the higher minimum wage in an attempt to bring workers back for an industry that has struggled to find employees.

“As our restaurants continue to work towards a full recovery after the pandemic, a full minimum wage is crucial to incentivize restaurant workers back into the industry,” Hoylman and Gonzalez-Rojas wrote. “Without providing the assurance of a livable wage, restaurants will continue to struggle to find enough workers. Many New York restaurants have independently selected to pay the full minimum wage, some even offering more than the minimum wage, in order to meet their staffing needs. These restaurants have seen their businesses succeed and their workers thrive. The restaurant industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the New York economy, but also the lowest paying. At a time of unprecedented economic and health crisis, we need to protect one of our largest and fastest-growing workforces.”