Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU

The Pug owner Tony Tomelden got a letter earlier this month from an unexpected source: D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General. The letter and accompanying fliers sought to educate and warn businesses about service charges — fees that became increasingly common since the pandemic hit and could become standard practice with the implementation of Initiative 82, which phases out tipped wages.

While service charges and other surcharges are not illegal in the city, the OAG says in the letter that the fees may violate D.C.’s consumer protection law if they are not “predominantly, clearly, and accurately disclosed to diners before diners place an order.” The move appears to mark the first time the D.C. government has publicly weighed in on service charges, a nebulous concept that’s not strictly defined — unlike tips, which are legally required to go to tipped workers. (Revenue from service charges de facto goes to the employer, and there are no rules about how they are distributed.)

Fliers accompanying the letter directed businesses that charge service fees to:

• Disclose the fee at the beginning of an order, either orally or in bold, large print on the menu
• Accurately describe the reason for the fee, either through its name (“worker health insurance fee”) or in text describing what the money is used for
• Only use the fees collected from diners for those purposes specified

Violators of the law would have to refund customers or pay penalties up to...

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