Our Challenging Public Health series invites speakers from outside of public health to reflect on the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This conversation features Saru Jayaraman, lawyer, activist, and founder of One Fair Wage. Jayaraman has written several books exposing the challenges faced by restaurant workers, including Behind the Kitchen Door: The People Who Make and Serve Your Food and Forked: A New Standard for American Dining.

At the end of the recording, participants will be able to:
– Discuss the primary concerns of restaurant workers, and how they were highlighted and exacerbated during the pandemic, making restaurants the #1 most dangerous places to work during the pandemic (per CDC)
– Describe current advocacy efforts to improve the wage structure for tipped restaurant workers to include full minimum wage plus tips