The minimum wage for tipped employees in the USA is only $2.13/hour, forcing any server or worker that relies on gratuities for money to give up all of their wages in return for the chance to make untaxed tips, which will then be taxed at the end of the year.
But this is an unreliable method of ensuring income as tips are presented as "optional."
However, a server cannot live without tips, as one server demonstrated when she showed her wages from her employer for six weeks of work would amount to just a single cent.
@lvndsmac THE FUCK IMA DO WITH ONE PENNY STEVEN!!!!!!! #serverlife #serverlife #bigballing #IDeserveTuitionContest #fyp #fypシ
The paycheck amounts to one cent for over a month of work.
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
Though the video is accurate, some people were calling out @lvndsmac/TikTok for not including the tips she claimed against her wages.
Once tips are claimed, the money from the wages is applied toward taxes/federal and state withholdings.
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac, the original poster of the video, hails from Nashville, Tennessee where restaurant wages are automatically applied toward federal, Social Security and Medicare.
But the situation for some servers is changing.
In New York City, the current minimum wage for tipped workers is $12.50/hour, ensuring at least a little bit of pay for most servers.
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
@lvndsmac/TikTok
But, like most of the USA, the rules are uneven across the country and several tipped workers are still in danger of making no money if they do not get enough tips.
Tip your servers!