Banker Leaves 1% Tip On $133 Lunch Bill In Defiance of 'The 99%' [UPDATED]

Tips: the Basics
1.   Service charge vs. tip.

- When a service charge is added to a customers bill, full payment is expected and required from the customer.  Tips are strictly voluntary and nonenforceable.   Patrons can choose to leave a tip or not, for any amount they choose.

- Any currency/monies recovered or received from a service charge are property of the employer/restaurant and  and any monies a server receives from a service charge is recognized as a “commission” rather than a tip and is reported as income.

- Any tip provided by the customer and intended for the server is considered the property of the server and any monies a server receives from a customer is defined as a tip or a gratuity.

So basically, an automatic service charge belongs to your employer and they can choose how much they want to share with the server. They may even choose not to share anything. (if  this is the case, they must pay the full applicable minimum wage, not a subminimum wage)

A tip however, even if wait staff is required to participate in a tip pool is still considered the property of the server.  Some in the industry believe an automatic service charge would  help eliminate financial  risk  for servers. This however, would only be true if servers are guaranteed a certain percentage or commission, otherwise employers might not disburse any of the service charge to wait staff.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost