Is $17/hour with no tips normal for a server around here?

My daughter and I recently moved to the area, and she just started working as a server at a local restaurant in Cheektowaga. She already has about two years of serving experience, so she was pretty excited to find a job and start saving up for college. She’s currently being paid $17/hour, but she isn’t receiving any tips at all.

When she went for her interview, her boss mentioned that they don’t split tips in the morning because business is usually slow. My daughter took that to mean that tips were split during the evening/night shifts, so she didn’t think much of it.

On her second day, she asked some of her coworkers how the tipping works, and that’s when she found out that they apparently don’t split tips at all. According to what she was told, the boss keeps all of the tips. The tips don’t go to the servers or the cooks, and apparently they aren’t even included on her paycheck.

She was honestly pretty shocked because she’s never worked somewhere where the servers received absolutely none of the tips.

Is this normal around here? I’m trying to figure out whether this is something she should just accept as the way this particular restaurant operates, or if she should start looking for another serving job.

She’s trying to save money for college, and with two years of serving experience, it seems like she could find somewhere that actually allows her to earn tips on top of her hourly wage.

Would appreciate hearing from anyone familiar with the restaurant industry around here. Is this common, or is this a major red flag?