This is illegal, in New York at least. The employer cannot take the worker's tips.
[0]: http://www.wigdorlaw.com/2014/04/07/unlawful-tip-pooling-und...
Although in practice, the employer would probably act as arbiter for pooling tips. (Those restaurants I'm aware of are in Norway, so circumstances are quite different: while there is no minimum wage, the de-facto minimum wage usually hovers around what the unions negotiate -- and end up being quite substantial as compared to eg: the US).