While the kitchen staff already is paid above minimum wage, their monthly income is dwarfed by that of the servers, who, like tipped workers at most restaurants, are paid no more than the minimum wage. That’s because a sizable portion of their earnings comes from tips.
This was phrased awkwardly, but the point is that in California, tipped workers make the minimum wage, which in the city of San Diego is now $11.50 an hour.
In California, tips belong the to employee. The employer cannot count the employee's tips towards the employer's minimum wage obligation.
This may cause the custom of tipping to be re-evaluated. If someone is already making a "living wage", why should they be tipped over and above that, just for doing their job?
I am a big believer in tipping as an effective way of evaluating a server’s performance. Servers who do not perform cannot make a living and find a different line of work. Eliminating tipping means the only person a server needs to please is their supervisor, which is less efficient than the customers directly controlling the server’s income.