"cos yeah employees always close out at the end of their shift... yet magically remain clocked in."
Even though you are being snarky, you are exactly right. When working the day shift, the bar tender is likely to tend the bar and wait tables in the bar area. If his replacement is scheduled to start at 4 the he would close out his drawer so his replacement can start with a fresh till and take on any new trasactions. It has nothing to do with being on or off the clock, it has to do with the cash register.

I'm not splitting hairs, I've been a server so I know how it works. I usually worked the dinner shift but I would often close out early so I could count my tips knowing I still had to clean my section and roll silverware before I could leave. Just because I cashed out did not mean I was free to go or could just abandon any tables I had.

When I was a server we all cashed out before our shift was over so we could count out