Sigh...you still don't know what you are talking about. I wasn't offended, I was irritated. The law has always been the same. Trust me, if it were as easy as calling up the DoL and being compensated, everyone would, but it's not. It's one of those laws that seems great but the process of enforcing it is far too complicated. One of those complications is the fact that by the time the DoL has followed up on your complaint, your place of employment will have found a reason to fire you. Service industry employees are highly disposable/replaceable so it is better for them to get rid of those who cause trouble for them. And please don'y start whining about wrongful termination b/c in this industry, it is very easy to find reasons to get rid of people you don't want on staff (it's horrible, I know, but that's just how it is). You're right, it should be that simple, but it's not. I still bartend part time because I love it so much, but I am also the Senior Executive Development Manager for a multi-million dollar company. I am not saying that to brag but merely to illustrate that I am well-versed in this industry and not just some know-it-all bartender, or someone like you who googles things and then thinks you know what you are talking about. It doesn't matter which state's minimum wage it is, if it is higher than the federal, that is the one employers must follow. I spent most of my life in a state with no minimum wage (only federal) so in that moment of being so irritated by your comment, I forgot that the minimum wage we follow is the state's which has increased recently as did the MW of most states. I know you mean well, but please just let this one go. Luckily, it is unlikely that anyone will read your ill-advised post again as this thread is old. For those reading this, the important thing is that service employees make their living from your tips, not from their hourly wages and are usually responsible for paying out a percentage of your bill including tip-outs and taxes. So just tip! Please! The more we educate the internationals on this, the less groaning they will receive when they sit down to be served. People fight over who has to take care of internationals because they expect to have to work for free. Thanks!

Whoever you are above, you really shouldn't make statements that you don't know anything about. I have been in the service industry for 11 years now and I have NEVER been paid more by my employer if my tips did not add up to minimum wage. So NO, the minimum wage for tipped employees is NOT 7.25 an hour "like everyone else". With my long-standing experience I luckily now hold a position where my tips are never below minimum wage, but that has not always been the case. For example, while in school, during summer months when business was quite slow, we very often had European guests who were in town on holiday. They would not leave a tip and guess how much money I made? Yes, $2.13 for that hour. AND many restaurants required I paid income taxes on a percentage of my sales on the assumption that I was tipped. So, at those places, I actually paid money from my pocket to work for diners who did not tip. Also, most restaurant/bar employees have to "tip out" other associates based on sales for their contribution to the service, such as bartenders, bussers, food runners, hostesses, etc (at my current job, the waiters tip me as a bartender 3%, their bussers 2%, and the food runners 5%). So for those people, they have to pay money out of their pocket for the non-tippers. For all of these reasons and so many more (including for dipsticks like the person who left the reply above), I am blessed to work at a venue that has automatic 18% gratuity added to every check every time; and yes, I give exceptional service to earn that auto-grat, so much so that people usually give above the auto-grat. Even still, I give 5% of food sales to food runners, and 25% of my tips to my barback. I also worked at a place where a factor in my ranking was my average tip percentage. So at that place, when someone didn't tip out of ignorance, it dropped my rank (especially during slower times) and therefore costed me more money as we were scheduled according to rank. I know for some the idea of tipping is strange, but it is what it is here in America. Please just make sure to tip! You are paying for the service. If you only want to pay for the food, go to McDonald's or the grocery store. If you only want to pay for the drinks, go to a store and make your own. I hope this has been helpful to those wondering about tipping. Oh and by the way, the current minimum wage is $7.79/hr. Way to bring forth information from 4 years ago...