Did you know your waiter or waitress might only be paid about $2 per hour? “Claudia Munoz, tells the story of having worked at the IHOP in Houston while in graduate school. Her hourly base pays $2.13. The IHOP did not bother making sure that her tips brought her hourly wages up to the federal minimum. It reported that she was earning $7.25 an hour regardless of what she earned in tips. The result? No paycheck. Ever. The real $2.13 an hour paid the taxes on the fictional $7.25 an hour.” The next time you are eating out at a restaurant or diner, be aware of what the owner of that establishment is allowed to get away with paying its workers.