Not sure how the rules changed regionally and nationally, but waiters used to get paid 1/3 to 1/2 the minimum wage. A quasi-commision arraingment. The difference was to made up in tips.
Then, they started getting taxed at an assumed 15% based on ticket sales(regardless of how much in tips they actually collected),
AFAIK.
California may have changed their minimum wage laws based on that.