Activists took to the steps of the State House on Tuesday to support paying tipped workers the standard minimum wage.A dozen activists rallied before a Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development hearing, the State House News Service said. In the hearing, lawmakers discussed legislation that would require all employees to be paid the same minimum wage, regardless of whether they receive tips, according to the State House News Service.Advocates say relying on tips creates uncertainty about how much money one is actually making. Marie Billiel, who has worked in restaurants for 11 years, says her only true income is her tips. Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier supports the bill and says it will help eliminate poverty. “We didn’t file this bill for those high-end restaurant workers in the Seaport,” she said. “We filed it for those diner workers in Pittsfield and Orange and New Bedford. People who work on tipped wages live in poverty, period.”In Massachusetts, the minimum wage for employees who receive tips is $4.35 an hour, while nontipped employees make $12 an hour. Advocates say an equal minimum wage would help workers’ financial stability and reduce their exposure to harassment, according to the State House News Service. According to Farley-Bouvier, states that have a single minimum wage have a poverty rate 20 percent lower than those with a separate tipped wage. In June 2018, Governor Charlie Barker signed so-called “grand bargain” legislation to increase the minimum wage. Under the legislation, the standard minimum wage will rise to $15 and tipped minimum wage to $6.75 by 2023. But opponents of the legislation say an equal minimum wage could burden business owners and increase costs for customers. Bob Luz, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, says employers only pay the lower wage when workers earn enough in tips to make up the $7.65 difference. “This is a system that works very well for all involved,” he said. “It protects the worker because they always make minimum wage, no matter what.”According to Luz, Massachusetts servers often report earning up to $30 an hour with tips -- which he says is among the highest rates in the country. If the new legislation passes, the lower rate would gradually increase until it equals the standard minimum wage by 2027, according to the State House News Service. Massachusetts would become the first state in the Northeast to make the wages equal, the State House News Service said. There are currently seven states that have a universal minimum wage. The State House also said the legislation would still allow customers to tip, but would require employers to pay all employees the same standard minimum wage and allow them to keep their tips as a bonus. U.S. Reps. Katharine Clark and Joe Kennedy III, both of Massachusetts, have also proposed similar changes at the federal level this year.