We’re at a moment of reckoning in the restaurant industry. Servers are reporting an increase in abuse from diners—just last month, a restaurant employee was beaten unconscious by a group of unhappy customers in Memphis, according to local reports. Restaurants are holding together their finances with duct tape and bubble gum, adding ambiguous fees with labels ranging from “inflation” to “wellness” to help cover rising costs. Consumers are overwhelmed and frustrated by fees, surcharges, and pop-up
Fair Labor Standards Act FLSA defines a tip as sum presented by a customer as a gift or gratuity in recognition of service performed. 29 C.F.R. ยง 531.52. Tips are separate from the payment due for the service, and whether to tip and in what amount is sole decision of customer.