$2.13/hour + tips… Chicago — foodie mecca (s/o “The Bear”) and the US’s third-largest city — approved a measure on Friday to phase out the subminimum wage for tipped workers. If you’ve never bussed a table in the dozens of states where sub-wages are a thing, they allow employers to pay tipped workers (like servers and bartenders) less than minimum wage. In 15 states, it means paying $2.13/hour. Pressure on cities and states to raise it has been mounting as tips fall from pandemic highs (see: tip fatigue).
Imposter syndrome… AI deepfake scams had a moment last week, highlighting a threat that experts say could turbocharge online fraud (expected to hit $8T globally this year). Tom Hanks, Gayle King, and MrBeast all warned about AI-generated videos using their likenesses to promote shady products and contests. Meta and TikTok have policies against undisclosed deepfakes, but stopping scams before they spread is hard. US lawmakers questioned Meta and X last week over their plans to curb fakes ahead of next year’s presidential election.