The author of the article certainly left that out. However, you yourself left out the fact that in a few states, including California, this is not true: emplo

The author of the article certainly left that out. However, you yourself left out the fact that in a few states, including California, this is not true: employers are required to pay at least minimum wage, upfront, to all employees, including waiters/waitresses -- they cannot pay the lower rate and then only bump it up to minimum wage if tips don't get you there (which is what happens in most states). Just thought I'd point that out for the sake of completeness.