 My name is David Cooper. I'm an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. But before I studied economics, I actually worked for TIPS. I waited tables, I attended bar, I even parked cars as a parking valet. And in my experience, many people don't really understand how tipped workers get paid. Many people think that when they go out to their favorite restaurant or bar and they leave a tip, that they're just giving something extra on top of that worker's regular wage. In most cases, that's actually not true. Under federal law, if a worker receives at least $30 per month in TIPS, then their employers only require to pay them $2.13 per hour. This means that whatever that worker's getting in TIPS is really the bulk of their wages. Now there are seven states where tipped workers get the full minimum wage, and a number of other states have said tip minimum wages above the federal $2.13. But nationwide, in any other occupation, employers would be required to pay these workers at least $7.25 per hour no matter what. But for waiters and waitresses, bartenders, nail salon workers, barbers and hairstylists, it's really the customer that's on the hook for paying the bulk of these employees' wages.