‘What in the world is this?’ Demand outraged diners after US city adds hidden 4% surcharge to their restaurant checks

DINERS have been left outraged after restaurant bills in one US state have appeared to continue to add unexpected surcharges to their checks. 

Restaurants have said the surprise surcharges are for the benefit of their employees, but some diners are questioning whether the businesses are going too far. 

A recent dinner bill from a restaurant reportedly located in Los Angeles, California, was shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

Ashley St. Clair, who works in operations for the satire website The Babylon Bee, shared the image saying she was sent the receipt from a friend. 

“What in the world is this? Just received this from a friend. Restaurants in LA are charging a 4% ‘LA Health’ fee,” the post read. 

“The charge is to keep ‘employees healthy and happy’ and is apparently city wide to have customers cover health insurance for restaurant employees.” 

In the image shared, there are two lines written at the bottom of the diner’s receipt. 

They read: “To keep our employee’s healthy and happy a 4% fee has been added to your bill. If you would like this charge removed, we are more than happy to do so.” 

Above, where the diner’s total is listed, the 4% fee of $6.32 is also listed. 

Here it is itemized as “LA Health 4%.” 

The name of the restaurant the check was from was not visible in the image.

Several other diners responded to St. Clair’s post, outraged over the surcharge, with many saying they would leave a smaller tip if they encountered a similar fee. 

“LOL ya that waiter’s tip is about to be 4% lower,” one person wrote. 

Another indicated they would avoid paying all together. 

“I’d walk out and not pay anything. Leave a declined card. Ridiculous.”

Others suggested the surcharge was ‘dishonest’ and could impact their return customer base. 

“Why don’t they just raise their prices to pay their employees properly, it seems dishonest,” one wrote. 

“Introducing a health fee might be well-intentioned, but it could discourage diners who feel they’re being nickel-and-dimed, possibly affecting a restaurant’s patronage,” another said. 

Despite the recent shock, these surcharges are nothing new for restaurants in California. 

In July 2023, a podcaster blasted Los Angeles-based restaurant over a similar 4% healthcare charge. 

As many diners began to criticize the restaurant over the fee, its owner defended the surcharge. 

“As some of you may have heard, my restaurant, Alimento, was recently targeted online by a number of people fueled by someone’s rant about our 4% healthcare surcharge,” Zachary Pollack, owner of Alimento wrote on Instagram at the time. 

He explained that while customers can opt out of the surcharge, his restaurant and many others add it on to help afford health care costs for employees. 

This practice stems from the Affordable Care Act, which passed in 2010, that mandates all employers with 25 staffers or more to pay for full-time employee healthcare. 

Pollack said while his restaurant works to give their employees free healthcare, the business is too small for the costs to be government mandated. 

He claimed that this results in the restaurant losing money to provide healthcare. 

These charges have been appearing on restaurant bills in California for over a decade. 

The first one reportedly appeared on a check in late, 2013, according to The Los Angeles Times. 

As many customers may still find the practice to be controversial, the Biden administration and Federal Trade Commission has recently taken action to block business from surprise fees. 

The FTC has suggested that a potential way restaurants can be more transparent with diners about such surcharges is by advertising it on the menu, rather than when they receive the bill. 

Additionally, the FTC recommended menu items be inclusive of any and all mandatory fees, increasing the costs to accommodate for additional surcharges.