In Wisconsin, the minimum wage for a tipped employee is $2.30/h, but if they don't make enough in tips to clear the state minimum of $7.25/h, the restaurant has to make up the difference. Effectively, the first $4.95/h of tips go to the restaurant.
About the repair shop, it's not "price fixing" in the illegal sense, but when I take my car for a repair, the shop quotes a price that's out of a pricing book, rather than charging by hour, and that's the price I pay. There's no further negotiation, and I pay the same price whether I was happy with the service or not. I've been going to the same mechanic for more than a decade, and am very happy with his shop. He's not cheap, but gets things right, and has never tried to rip me off.
Flat rate?? That's been the automotive industry standard since the wheel was invented.
