Good point - most states require the pay to be the greater of 1) normal minimum wage OR 2) wait-specific min wage + tips/hour.
So, a waiter should always earn at least minimum wage, but can earn more if tips are good.
However, in practice, there are problems with this system. First, waiters who don't earn lots of tips usually get the bad shifts, then fired. Second, lots of room for wage theft.
And there is a whole bunch of wage theft - you can't forget that wage theft accounts for the most damaging crime by pure value in the US alone. Individual occurrences aren't generally for tons of money, but it happens everywhere.
In no state can a tipped employee be paid below minimum wage. If their base wage plus tips received over hours worked are below the minimum, then the employer is obligated to make up the difference. Of course, not everyone knows this, and I'm sure there are a lot of employers taking advantage of the situation.
The difference is in some states, there's not a different minimum base for tipped employees. So you're always making at least real min wage on your check automatically without having to worry about your boss actually doing the true up like they're supposed to.
Even if you know it, what are you going to do? Likely you can't afford a lawyer, and you definitely can't afford to leave your job to sue, since so many benefits in the US are tied to being employed. Employers know this...
