Florida hospitality businesses face a new compliance challenge this summer, and this one is all about transparency. Effective July 1, the state’s new “operations charge” law significantly expands how public food service establishments disclose fees to customers – including service charges, automatic gratuities, credit card surcharges, delivery fees, and other mandatory add-ons. The new rules apply to any “public food service establishment,” which is broadly defined to include any restaurant, food truck, hotel dining outlet, catering operation, or other place where food is prepared, served, or sold for immediate consumption or takeout. So if you’re reading this, the law likely applies. If you charge any of these fees, you need to act now to update your menus, receipts, websites, and internal processes – and evaluate how these changes impact your wage-and-hour compliance. Here’s what new law requires and five steps you should take before July 1.

What’s New?

Florida law already requires public food service establishments to notify customers when an automatic gratuity is included in the bill. However, Governor DeSantis approved a new law last year that, starting July 1, will expand the term “operations charge” to include any automatic fee or charge, other than a government-imposed tax, that a customer is required to pay on top of the food and beverage cost. This updated definition goes much further than the current rules, which address automatic gratuities and service charges...

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