Chrissy Teigen and Other Celebs Will Clock In as ‘Servers for an Hour’ in NYC

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Chrissy Teigen is heading back to restaurant life—this time in the spotlight of Manhattan.

According to AM New York, on Thursday, October 9, the model and television personality will host “Server for an Hour,” an event where celebrities swap their usual roles for shifts waiting tables.

Teigen will be joined by Sophia Bush, Dorinda Medley, Heidi Gardner, Ciara Miller, Jesel Taank, and Orlando Bloom. For one evening, the group will take orders, deliver plates, and interact with guests while highlighting the challenges faced by tipped employees across the country.

At the center of the event is a decades-old federal law that still defines how many service workers are paid.

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Since 1991, the federal subminimum wage for tipped employees has remained at $2.13 per hour, as mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The system, known as the “tip credit,” allows employers to pay that base wage on the assumption that tips will push earnings up to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. If a worker’s tips don’t cover the gap, the law requires the employer to make up the difference.

“This year’s event feels especially profound,” Teigen said in a statement. “The affordability crisis is pushing families to the brink, and the people powering our economy are barely scraping by. If we truly want to give people a shot at a life of dignity, then we have to pay them a living wage.”

The federal standard is not the same everywhere. Some states, including California, Washington, and Oregon, require employers to pay tipped workers the full state minimum wage, regardless of tips. Others follow the federal baseline of $2.13, and many fall somewhere in between with their own tipped minimum rates.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, enforcement of the tip credit law can be inconsistent, resulting in gaps where workers may not always receive the federally mandated minimum wage. While many servers in high-traffic restaurants earn well above $7.25 per hour from tips, others in lower-volume establishments rely heavily on their employer to meet wage requirements.