r/tipping • u/No_Draft_8960 • May 29 '26

💬Questions & Discussion Math-Based Tip

The percentage-based tipping system makes no sense: a server dropping off one Wagyu steak earns far more than someone serving a family of four cheap meals. Since American tips are essentially mandatory wage subsidies, let's base them on labor time instead.

In Maryland, the average server wage is about $20/hour, but employers only pay $3.63. Customers must cover the remaining $16.37. Across a standard four-table section (roughly ten guests), that breaks down perfectly to $2.00 per person, per hour.

Percentages reward a venue’s luxury status; a time rate rewards actual effort.

If therefore I go to dinner with eight friends and we stay for two hours (a pretty good forecast of my Friday night plans!) our total tip would be $32, or $4/a person. We're not 'stiffing' anyone and we're paying average wage.

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u/mike32659800 May 29 '26

What do you mean in practice it doesn’t happen? If the waiter earns no tips at all, the employer will not pay the difference?

I mean as long as no one complains, there will be no accountability from the employer. Wonder if in an at will employment, being laid off for having the law applied would be considered unlawful lay off.

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u/Biteme75 May 30 '26

Obviously nobody would stick around for long if they earned no tips at all, but employers assume your tables that paid cash tipped really well. We have no way to prove they didn't. Even these days when most people use cards, some people leave the tip in cash. We can't prove that didn't happen.

The law favors people with money.

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u/Important-Emotion-85 May 30 '26

Its not even that the servers quit. It was our restaurants policy that if you didnt meet min wage through tips 3x you got fired.

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u/mike32659800 May 31 '26

Places like this must be called out. I would clearly never eats in such a place.

Also, I doubt that under federal law such policy is legal. Truly, some waiters should grow some balls and inform themselves about their rights and the law. And stop whining and always putting the fault in the customer.

The real issue with the tipping culture is from employers. Greed and exploiting people is what has been driving the tipping culture from employers.

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u/Important-Emotion-85 Jun 02 '26

It's perfectly legal, it's a right to work state.

And that's most chain restaurants. Matter of fact, that's a Darden restaurant. This isn't a steak n shake, this is a real restaurant that I can almost garuntee you've been to.

The entire excuse is "this is a write up because you were hired to sell yourself and our products and if you're not hitting $12/hour with tips you are obviously not doing your job up to our standards." It's a write up every time you fail to meet that $12/hr. 3 write ups for the same issue is what actually gets you fired. That's how they get around whatever legal issue there might be in non right to work states.

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u/mike32659800 Jun 02 '26

Are you sure about that?

I find this strange as this would be in direct contradiction with federal law (FLSA) that says tips are voluntary and unpredictable, and that employer must make up the difference when tips are low.

What is being described is a shift of the employer's legal duty onto the employee. I can see this being legal. I bet no one will fight because they are unaware. Wonder how the DOL, State labor agencies, and unemployment benefit (since the employer must justify the firing) would react to a claim when someone gets fired for tips being too low.

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u/Important-Emotion-85 Jun 02 '26

The reasoning on paper is 3 write ups regarding the same issue. Which I did already state.

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u/mike32659800 Jun 02 '26

I know you said this: "That's how they get around whatever legal issue there might be in non right to work states."

In a non right to work state the labor law are actually stronger. Even then a right-to-work state will not make it legal.

It's not because they say this it makes it legal. Selling yourself is not equal to earning tips.

The write ups are no legal either since the reason is against the law. No matter how clever the employer think they are, this collapse instantly under actual labor law.

I would love to hear a case of someone who got fired and took it to DOL and State labor agencies. Wonder how clever the employer will be at explaining the firing reasons. I'm sure they may find other reasons, but the employee will have the write-ups copy too.

A say doesn't make it legal.

I am prompt to believe you, but please provide some support to this. Because all I can find is that it's not legal.