Originally Posted by
brewdog11
Many people are dependent on tips. Here in the United States, the minimum wage for tipped employees is somewhere around $2.00 (give or take a few cents). That is not enough to buy a pot to piss in, especially if you work at a restaurant that is not very busy. On top of that, a tipped employee is responsible for paying for rent, transportation, health insurance and health-care-related expenses, childcare, etc.
While it's still not much money:
1) If your total tips don't add up to the full regular minimum wage, the employer is required to make up the difference under federal law.
2) Several states don't allow the tip credit, and require a full minimum wage
before tips:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm