Originally Posted by
kipper
They don't make $2/hour. If tips make up at least 30% of their income, employers can pay employees $2.13/hour, but their tips MUST push that amount up to at least $7.25/hour, which is minimum wage. If they don't earn enough in tips to make $7.25/hour, then the employer MUST make up the difference.
A friend of ours used to be a bartender at Chili's. A few years ago, he said that between what he had to claim in tips (credit card tips, etc.), he earned $56,000 in a year. That's just with what he had to claim in tips.
And this is the key point here. Waiter's claim their tips at the end of the night and if their total with their hourly is less than Minimum wage then the employer has to reimburse the difference. A-lot of waiters who get cash tips do not claim it in their end of night reports, so they always end up earning more than minimum wage.