Restaurant surcharges could be OK after all, if they’re clearly displayed.
By Kate Bradshaw
This story was first published in The Mercury News on June 6, 2024.
Just weeks before the July 1 start of a statewide ban on so-called “hidden fees,” State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) has proposed a new law to clarify how it applies to the restaurant industry.
If passed, urgency measure Senate Bill 1524 would allow restaurants to continue charging mandatory gratuities, service charges, or other fees, as long as those fees are conspicuously displayed on restaurant menus.
“This will enable restaurants to continue to support increased pay equity and to make contributions to worker health care and other employee benefits,” said Matthew Sutton, senior vice president at the California Restaurant Association. SB 1524 was co-authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and is supported by the California Restaurant Association and Unite Here labor union, according to a press statement.
Full story here.
Kate Bradshaw 
Leave a comment