Campaign to End the Subminimum Wage
In partnership with One Fair Wage, we’re working to achieve livable wages for tipped workers who are currently paid a subminimum wage and achieve economic equity at the scale of the public markets.
What Is a Subminimum Wage?
A “subminimum wage” is a wage that is below the federal or state-mandated minimum wage. Federal law allows companies to pay less than the legally mandated minimum wage to certain groups of workers. The restaurant industry is the largest sector exploiting the minimum wage loophole, impoverishing a staggering 13.6
million people working for subminimum wages, according to our partners at One Fair Wage.
Why Should Investors Care?
Rooted in labor exploitation, subminimum wages
perpetuate economic, racial, and gender injustice. While industry executives argue that their businesses rely on these wages, the reality is more complex. For example, tipped workers that rely on subminimum wages face double the rate of sexual harassment than those with guaranteed wages – upholding this unjust practice exposes companies and their investors to potential legal and reputational risks. Not only that, but research from One Fair Wage has shown that business growth increases when livable wage policies are adopted. Learn more about why this issue is material for investors in our Investor Letter.
INVESTOR TOOLKIT
Investors Representing Over $1 Trillion Agree: It’s Time To End The Subminimum Wage – A Practice That Upholds Racial, Economic, & Gender Injustice
Labor extraction from vulnerable populations is deeply rooted in the history of Wall Street and the broader United States financial market. Although the Transatlantic Slave Trade and indentured servitude ended with the 13th Amendment, debt bondage persists illegally in the U.S., and de facto slavery persists in varying forms globally. The lingering impact of labor extraction still shapes our economic system, most evidently in business models aimed at minimizing labor costs. A notable example is the subminimum wages of tipped workers, a practice linked directly to slavery, whereby workers are legally paid significantly less than the federal minimum wage.
In the 43 states that allow subminimum wages, tipped workers are more than twice are more than twice as likely to live in poverty and rely on Medicaid than the rest of the workforce. These low wages affect a workforce that is majority women and disproportionately includes people of color.
Today, the practice of paying workers a subminimum wage and requiring them to rely on tips upholds systemic racism as workers of color earn far less in tips than their white coworkers, due to both segregation of workers of color into more casual restaurants and customer bias in tipping. For example, Black women earn only 60 percent of what white men earn in the same hosting positions.
Take Action With Our Investor Toolkit
Ready to help us and our partners put an end to the subminimum wage? Our Investor Toolkit includes all the resources you’ll need to deepen your understanding, advocate for the issue within your own networks, take collective action with other investors, and align your portfolio with the cause.
- Read and share One Fair Wage’s resources and research on the subminimum wage
- Join investors representing over $1 trillion AUM & sign the Investor Statement in Support of Livable Wages
- Demand action from specific restaurants by signing our Targeted Investor Letter, which aims to bring focused investor attention to Brinker Restaurants and the 4Ds (Darden, Disney, DINE, and Denny’s) documented refusal to raise worker wages
- Evaluate your portfolio using the Subminimum Wage Investor Dataset, included below
- Support One Fair Wage and their ongoing efforts to end the subminimum wage in state elections
- Join the Subminimum Wage Investor Coalition by emailing impact@adasina.com
Our Social Justice Partner
One Fair Wage is a national organization of nearly 300,000 restaurant and service workers, nearly 1,000 restaurant owners, and dozens of organizations nationwide working to end all subminimum wages in the US and improve working conditions for service workers in particular. One Fair Wage helped us identify the subminimum wage as a key contributor to economic, racial, and gender injustice and helped inform our Subminimum Wage Investor Dataset.
WHAT WE’VE ACHIEVED SO FAR
Campaign Updates & Wins
Every quarter, we publish an Impact Report with live updates on our progress across each active Investor Mobilization Campaign.
Take Deeper Action. Join Our Coalition to End The Subminimum Wage.
INVESTOR DATASET
Subminimum Wage Investor Dataset
Adasina’s Investor Datasets are created in deep collaboration with our Social Justice Partners – individuals with lived experience and expertise on the specific issue we’re targeting in our Investor Mobilization Campaigns. Together, we identify the most meaningful metrics for investors to use to advance that issue in their portfolios. Then, we publish the dataset, integrate it into Adasina’s own product portfolios, and mobilize investors like you to take action using the data.
Adasina’s Subminimum Wages Investor Dataset highlights the corporations that pay subminimum wages to tipped workers:
| Company Name | Social Justice Investment Criteria | Ticker | ISIN | As-of Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARAMARK CORPORATION | Subminimum Wages | ARMK US Equity | US03852U1060 | 02-27-2025 |
| ARK RESTAURANTS CORP | Subminimum Wages | ARKR US Equity | US0407121013 | 02-27-2025 |
| BIGLARI HOLDINGS INC. | Subminimum Wages | BH US Equity | US08986R3093 | 02-27-2025 |
| BJ'S RESTAURANTS, INC. | Subminimum Wages | BJRI US Equity | US09180C1062 | 02-27-2025 |
| BLOOMIN' BRANDS, INC. | Subminimum Wages | BLMN US Equity | US0942351083 | 02-27-2025 |
| BRINKER INTERNATIONAL INC | Subminimum Wages | EAT US Equity | US1096411004 | 02-27-2025 |
| CANNAE HOLDINGS, INC. | Subminimum Wages | CNNE US Equity | US13765N1072 | 02-27-2025 |
| CHEESECAKE FACTORY INCORPORATED | Subminimum Wages | CAKE US Equity | US1630721017 | 02-27-2025 |
| CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE, INC. | Subminimum Wages | CBRL US Equity | US22410J1060 | 02-27-2025 |
| DARDEN RESTAURANTS INC | Subminimum Wages | DRI US Equity | US2371941053 | 02-27-2025 |
| DAVE & BUSTER'S ENTERTAINMENT, INC. | Subminimum Wages | PLAY US Equity | US2383371091 | 02-27-2025 |
| DENNY'S | Subminimum Wages | DENN US Equity | US24869P1049 | 02-27-2025 |
| DINE BRANDS GLOBAL, INC. | Subminimum Wages | DINE US Equity | US2544231069 | 02-27-2025 |
| FAT BRANDS INC | Subminimum Wages | FAT US Equity | US30258N1054 | 02-27-2025 |
| FLANIGAN'S ENTERPRISES INC | Subminimum Wages | BDL US Equity | US3385171059 | 02-27-2025 |
| KISSES FROM ITALY, INC. | Subminimum Wages | KITL US Equity | US4977871015 | 02-27-2025 |
| KURA SUSHI USA, INC. | Subminimum Wages | KRUS US Equity | US50127T1097 | 02-27-2025 |
| MADISON SQUARE GARDEN ENTERTAINMENT CORP. | Subminimum Wages | MSGE US Equity | US55826T1025 | 02-27-2025 |
| MERITAGE HOSPITALITY GROUP INC | Subminimum Wages | MHGU US Equity | US59000K3095 | 02-27-2025 |
| NOBLE ROMAN'S, INC. | Subminimum Wages | NROM US Equity | US6551071003 | 02-27-2025 |
| ONE GROUP HOSPITALITY, INC. (THE) | Subminimum Wages | STKS US Equity | US88338K1034 | 02-27-2025 |
| PREMIER DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT, INC. | Subminimum Wages | PDIV US Equity | US74049P2011 | 02-27-2025 |
| RCI HOSPITALITY HOLDINGS, INC. | Subminimum Wages | RICK US Equity | US74934Q1085 | 02-27-2025 |
| RED ROBIN GOURMET BURGERS, INC. | Subminimum Wages | RRGB US Equity | US75689M1018 | 02-27-2025 |
| REGIS CORP | Subminimum Wages | RGS US Equity | US7589321071 | 02-27-2025 |
| TEXAS ROADHOUSE, INC. | Subminimum Wages | TXRH US Equity | US8826811098 | 02-27-2025 |
| THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY | Subminimum Wages | DIS US Equity | US2546871060 | 02-27-2025 |
| WINGSTOP | Subminimum Wages | WING US Equity | US9741551033 | 02-27-2025 |
| BT Brands, Inc. | Subminimum Wages | BTBD US Equity | US0557MQ2066 | 02-27-2025 |
| Drive Shack Inc. | Subminimum Wages | DSHK US Equity | US2620771004 | 02-27-2025 |
| First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc. | Subminimum Wages | FWRG US Equity | US33748L1017 | 02-27-2025 |
| GEN Restaurant Group, Inc. | Subminimum Wages | GENK US Equity | US36870C1045 | 02-27-2025 |
| Pacific Software, Inc. | Subminimum Wages | PFSF US Equity | US69482P2056 | 02-27-2025 |
| Pinstripes Holdings Inc. | Subminimum Wages | PNST US Equity | US06690B1070 | 02-27-2025 |
| Sodexo S.A. - Depositary Receipt (Common Stock) | Subminimum Wages | SDXAY US Equity | US8337921048 | 02-27-2025 |
| Yoshiharu Global Co. | Subminimum Wages | YOSH US Equity | US98740Y3027 | 02-27-2025 |
| iPic Entertainment Inc. | Subminimum Wages | IPIC US Equity | US46263D1063 | 02-27-2025 |
Data aggregation and list construction performed by Adasina Social Capital, in partnership with One Fair Wage.
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At Adasina, we believe that every person in the US deserves to be paid a fair wage for their hard work. By ending the practice of paying subminimum wages, we not only fight against racial and gender injustice but also set our companies up for long-term success.
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