Originally Posted by
davie355
No state has a lower effective minimum wage for restaurant workers. Most states allow the employer to pay $2/hr instead of $8/hr, but if the employee falls short of $8/hr after tips, then the employer must make up the difference.
All that is really of no concern to any US restaurant diner. We just add 15-20% in that tip line.
Yep. The point is more that it's not necessarily that lower number that makes tipping a thing but lower wages in general (plus other cultural factors).