I keep seeing people say this. It’s false. Yes, in most states, tipped servers are paid less than minimum, though even in those states, the employers must make up the difference if tips plus base don’t equal at least the standard minimum at the end of the shift.

BUT in several states, ALL workers, even servers, are paid at least the regular minimum. The tipped minimum doesn’t exist at all on the west coast, nor in several other states. On the west coast, your server makes at least as much as the cashier at the grocery store, or the person giving you your food at McDonald’s, only that server still expect at least 20% of the bill while the cashier or McD’s worker doesn’t get any part of the bill.

Now I know some people say ”try living on minimum wage.” That’s virtue-signaling if you aren’t also giving the drive-thru people 20%, or that cashier, say, 10% of your receipt. A server and those drive-thru workers both take your order, relay it to the kitchen, then hand you your food. If you’re only concerned about one food worker and not another in states where it’s the same minimum, then it’s not at all about being concerned about their pay.