A wellness charge on a restaurant bill is a mandatory fee, usually 3% to 5% of your total, that the restaurant says goes toward employee health insurance or other staff benefits. You may see it labeled “wellness fee,” “employee benefit fee,” “team benefits charge,” or something similar. Whether you can have it removed depends on two things: the disclosure rules where you’re dining, and whether the restaurant chooses to waive it when asked. Many will. If the fee was clearly posted before you ordered, though, you generally agreed to it by ordering.
What the Charge Actually Pays For
Restaurants add these fees to fund staff benefits without raising menu prices outright. Portland’s Biwa was an early adopter, tacking 5% onto every bill to provide full health coverage for its more than 20 employees. Owner Gabe Rosen framed it as transparency: “We raised prices five percent across the board, and we wanted to do it in a way that was very transparent, where we could show the guests, ‘This is what we’re doing. This is important to us.'”1Eater. Portland Restaurant Adopts Health and Wellness Charge
The practice has spread. A 2023 National Restaurant Association survey found 15% of restaurant owners had added surcharges to offset rising costs,2CNBC. Restaurants Fight FTC Junk Fee Crackdown Over Surcharges and more than a third now use some combination of kitchen appreciation fees, credit card fees, or preset tipping.3Square. Restaurant Operators Fee Guide Restaurants that are open about the mechanics tend to describe segregated accounts and specific splits: Veritas in Columbus, for example, puts its 3% surcharge revenue into a separate account to pay half of employee health premiums.4Columbus Monthly. What’s Behind That Wellness Surcharge on Your Restaurant Bill
No standard mechanism exists to verify how any given restaurant uses the money. Chef Keith Taylor, an industry critic, has cautioned that “it’s very easy for this to become a dishonest practice,” since operators could claim funds are for one purpose while directing them elsewhere. When Philadelphia Magazine investigated FCM Hospitality’s 3% “employee benefit fee,” the reporter could not find any explanation of the charge on company websites before contacting them. FCM dropped the fee less than 24 hours after the story was published.5Philadelphia Magazine. Wellness Fee in Restaurants
Can You Refuse to Pay It?
Often, yes. Several restaurant groups have said they will remove the charge on request. Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You states: “We advise our guests of this surcharge in advance and upon request, the charge will be removed.”6ABC 7 Chicago. Chicago Restaurant Groups Stand by Surcharges Columbus restaurant Law Bird tells customers its 3% “team benefits charge” can be taken off if they ask.4Columbus Monthly. What’s Behind That Wellness Surcharge on Your Restaurant Bill In practice, most restaurants would rather waive a few dollars than argue with a guest.
Legally, though, a properly disclosed mandatory surcharge is enforceable. Under New York City’s rules, once a restaurant has met the pre-order disclosure requirements, the charge is lawful and a consumer challenge is unlikely to succeed.7NYC Rules. Restaurant Surcharges The line between “you can refuse” and “you’re bound” runs through disclosure: if the fee was clearly on the menu when you ordered, you consented to it. If it wasn’t, you have grounds to push back and, depending on where you live, a legal claim.
What Disclosure Your Location Requires
Rules vary by state and city. The trend is toward requiring restaurants to tell you about the fee before you order.
California
California’s Honest Pricing Law (SB 478) took effect July 1, 2024, and generally requires businesses to include mandatory fees in advertised prices.8California Office of the Attorney General. Hidden Fees Governor Newsom signed SB 1524 on June 29, 2024, carving out an exemption for restaurants, bars, and food vendors. Restaurants can keep charging separate mandatory fees as long as each fee is “clearly and conspicuously displayed, with an explanation of its purpose, on any advertisement, menu, or other display that contains the price of the food or beverage item.”9California Restaurant Association. SB 1524 Since July 1, 2025, the fee display must use larger type, contrasting font or color, or symbols that draw the eye. Consumers not properly notified may seek actual damages of at least $1,000.10Heffins. Are Your Menus Compliant With the New California Restaurant Surcharge Law
Washington, D.C.
D.C. is a hotspot for surcharge disputes, largely because Initiative 82 began phasing out the tip credit in 2022, prompting many restaurants to add service fees of 3% to 20%.11Washingtonian. The Great Restaurant Fee Fiasco Under D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, fees must be clearly and prominently disclosed at the beginning of the ordering process, and collected fees must be used for their stated purpose. A charge labeled “service fee” must go fully and directly to service workers unless other uses are prominently disclosed. Burying fee information in fine print or revealing it only on the final bill is illegal.12Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Consumer Alert – DC Restaurants Are Barred From Charging Hidden Fees In March 2024, the D.C. Council created a safe harbor for service fees of 20% or less, shielding restaurants from litigation when the fees are clearly disclosed verbally, on menus, and on websites.13Restaurant Dive. DC Passes Bill That Protects Restaurants With Service Fees From Litigation
New York City
NYC generally bars restaurants from adding surcharges beyond listed prices, but permits “bona fide service charges,” such as mandatory gratuities for large parties or minimum per-person charges, when conspicuously disclosed before you order.7NYC Rules. Restaurant Surcharges Rules effective April 2026 include no cure period, so a restaurant that fails to properly disclose faces immediate enforcement.14NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Inspection Checklist – Restaurant Surcharges and Mandatory Gratuities
Massachusetts
Massachusetts junk fee regulations (940 CMR 38) took effect September 2, 2025. Restaurants must display the total price of food on menus and bills with all mandatory fees included. Mandatory service charges for large parties are still permitted but must be clearly disclosed along with their conditions. The Attorney General can enforce violations under the state Consumer Protection Law, and consumers have a private right of action.15Massachusetts Attorney General. Junk Fee Regulations for Restaurants
Florida
Florida’s amended fee disclosure law (Section 509.214, as amended by Senate Bill 606) takes effect July 1, 2026. Restaurants must disclose the existence, amount, and purpose of any “operations charge” on menus, websites, and mobile apps. Receipts must separately itemize gratuities, operations charges, taxes, and delivery fees. Fines range from $100 to $1,000 per violation.16BakerLaw. Florida Expands Mandatory Fee Disclosure Requirements for Restaurants
Virginia
Virginia Code § 59.1-608 requires sellers to clearly and conspicuously display the total price of goods and services including all mandatory fees. Restaurants and hotels must specifically disclose the percentage of any automatic and mandatory gratuity in every offer or advertisement containing pricing information.17Virginia Code Commission. § 59.1-608
Everywhere Else
There is no federal rule for restaurant fees. The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, effective May 12, 2025, applies only to short-term lodging and live-event ticket vendors; restaurants are not covered.18FTC. Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees – Frequently Asked Questions Outside the states above, regulation of restaurant surcharges is spotty, and your best protection is checking the menu before you order.
A Wellness Charge Is Not a Tip
This distinction matters for what happens to your money. Under New York law, a tip is a voluntary payment that belongs entirely to the employee, is not restaurant revenue, and is not subject to sales tax. A mandatory service charge or surcharge belongs to the employer unless the employer voluntarily distributes it to staff, counts as business revenue, and may be subject to sales tax.14NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Inspection Checklist – Restaurant Surcharges and Mandatory Gratuities California treats mandatory payments designated as tips, gratuities, or service charges as part of the retailer’s taxable gross receipts, even when later distributed to employees.19California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Publication 115
So a wellness charge doesn’t reduce what you’d otherwise tip your server, and it isn’t guaranteed to reach the people who served you. D.C.’s attorney general has warned that if a charge is not a tip, the bill must make that clear so customers aren’t misled.12Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Consumer Alert – DC Restaurants Are Barred From Charging Hidden Fees
What to Do at the Table
Check the menu before you order. A compliant restaurant will name the charge, state the percentage, and explain what it funds, in type you can actually see. If you find that language, you’ve consented to the fee by ordering, and the smoothest way to avoid it is to ask when the check arrives; many restaurants will remove it without argument. If the fee appears only on the final bill with no prior notice, say so, ask for it to be removed, and, if the restaurant refuses, keep the receipt and any photo of the menu.
Complaints go to your state attorney general or local consumer protection office. In D.C., at least 200 fee-related complaints had reached the attorney general’s office by December 2023.11Washingtonian. The Great Restaurant Fee Fiasco Consumer sentiment tracks the frustration: 53% of consumers in Square’s 2025 Future of Restaurants report said they disapprove of kitchen appreciation fees.3Square. Restaurant Operators Fee Guide You’re not obligated to like the charge, and in most rooms you’re not obligated to pay it if it wasn’t disclosed. When it was, the ask is the tool.