New restaurant trend. 3-5% surcharge to pay for health insurance

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Coming to a business near you.

LA
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-weston/chef-walter-manzkes-republique_b_4293887.html

As an objective reviewer (yes I am!), I must comment on one other aspect of my dinner, At the bottom of the menu is a statement: "A Three Percent 'Healthy L.A.' service charge will be added to your bill. This will help us to provide health insurance for our entire staff. Please adjust your gratuity accordingly." I had forgotten about this note until I got home and looked at my bill, and there was a Surcharge Healthy L.A. amount added after the subtotal and tax. It was $4.73 for my check. Now, of course I am not adverse to seeing that the staff gets health insurance, but I question whether any restaurant has the right to charge its guests for this. I welcome comments from my subscribers on this matter.

"Frisco"
http://www.sfgate.com/restaurants/article/Restaurateurs-settle-over-health-surcharge-4499854.php

. In 2008, the Healthy San Francisco law was passed, requiring businesses with 20 workers or more to set aside an allotted sum for employees who are uninsured. Many restaurant owners decided that instead of raising the prices of food and beverages to cover the increase, they would tack on a surcharge at the bottom of the bill, explaining to diners that the extra money was to be used toward employee health care. The surcharge can be a percentage of the bill or a flat fee.

Doug Biederbeck, co-owner of Bix and MarketBar, two restaurants that settled with the city attorney for $31,591, said that until the law was amended in 2011, many owners, including him, didn't realize that if you used the word "health" in the surcharge language on the menu or bill that the total amount of money collected had to go directly to a health-care fund for employees.

Portland
http://www.kgw.com/news/Portland-restaurant-adds-surcharge-for-health-care-220589271.html

PORTLAND -- A Southeast Portland restaurant is asking customers to help pay for its workers’ health insurance with a five percent surcharge.
Diners at Biwa, on Southeast 9th Avenue, are notified when they sit down and before they order that the surcharge has been added to help provide owner Gabe Rosen’s 22 employees with continued coverage.
Rosen told KGW he has been providing the health insurance since January, 2012. But he said the price this year went up ten percent and he needed to offset that cost.

 

[jlprk]

Finally, restaurant owners are being forced to provide employee health insurance. They are being dragged into the modern world.

Will Republican business owners display an added tax to fund Bush's trillion dollar wars?

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Perhaps restaurant owners can itemize all of their expenses on the back of their menus? Perhaps the Heimlich manoever can be added to the menu as sort of a healthcare procedure a la carte?

 

[3RA1N1AC]

 

[Rhal]

Iv got no real problem with small businesses doing this since I don't see Health Insurance as an option but a necessity with the price of medical treatment in this day and age. I don't agree giant franchises should be able to it as well since they can do it without it eating into their profit margin that much but you can't allow one to do it and not the other.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Perhaps restaurant owners can itemize all of their expenses on the back of their menus? Perhaps the Heimlich manoever can be added to the menu as sort of a healthcare procedure a la carte?

Tap water is expensive and should not be free.

In Europe and some chinese restaurants they charge you a fee for every person sitting at the table.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Tap water is expensive and should not be free.

In Europe and some chinese restaurants they charge you a fee for every person sitting at the table.

I asked a waiter in Paris for some water and the motherfucker never brought it. Maybe he thought I couldn't afford it? In the old Europe they charge more for cold beverages than room temperature beverages. Also wine is often cheaper than Coke. I don't drink so this pissed me off a bit. I've been to Chinese buffet a couple times is that what you are talking about? That is some haute cuisine bro.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

So just raise the prices of food without being so stupidly political about it.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I asked a waiter in Paris for some water and the motherfucker never brought it. Maybe he thought I couldn't afford it? In the old Europe they charge more for cold beverages than room temperature beverages. Also wine is often cheaper than Coke. I don't drink so this pissed me off a bit. I've been to Chinese buffet a couple times is that what you are talking about? That is some haute cuisine bro.

Chinese restaurants charge you for the tea they put out, at least the more authentic ones do.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Chinese restaurants charge you for the tea they put out, at least the more authentic ones do.

That's cool, you get what you pay for I suppose. It's been a while since I've been to a decent Chinese restaurant. I actually went to a Chinese resaurant today and got a clubhouse sandwich, still got a fortune cookie too.

 

[dviss1]

Finally, restaurant owners are being forced to provide employee health insurance. They are being dragged into the modern world.

Will Republican business owners display an added tax to fund Bush's trillion dollar wars?

Where we disagree in the regular forum, I have your back on this one. Great post. Repped.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Actually customers are being forced to provide the health insurance

 

[MARIS61]

I believe it is illegal for a private business to charge and collect a tax for THEIR own benefit. Especially under false pretenses.

This does not benefit anyone but the owners. In fact, they tell customers to reduce their tip to cover the difference.