If you own a bar/restaurant in California, this one's for you.....

In a not-unexpected ruling, the FTC yesterday passed a rule that bans adding service charges to a bill.  This new rule DOES NOT apply to restaurants/bars but in a more narrow direction, only applies nationally to hotels, ticket agencies and short-term vacation rentals (air bnb). For these businesses only, going forward, the total price a consumer sees must be the price that is charged.  If fees are included in the total price, those fees will be displayed, but cannot be added to the final price, as has oftentimes been customary 

Hidden ticket fees and vacation rental charges will be banned in America | CNN Business

Federal Trade Commission Announces Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket and Hotel Fees | Federal Trade Commission

Related to this, I've been getting some questions about disclosing service charges on menus.  We all know by now that service charges and auto gratuities are allowed to continue.  Last June's favorable decision by Sacramento in SB 1524 provided an exemption to SB 478, which disallowed these additional fees for most California businesses 

 But SB 1524 provided an exemption for bars and restaurants.

SB 1524 requires the fees to be “clearly and conspicuously” displayed on your menu, website, and any advertising where a menu price is listed.  However, the exact definition of "clearly and conspicuously,"  is not clearly defined in SB 1524.  Leaving many of you unsure how to comply.  

See the below link to the law firm Greenberg Traurig.  (No, I'm not affiliated with it.).  It's a good layman's read and not very technical.  The advice seems to be what many of you are already doing:

• Make the disclosure conspicuous

• Make the font larger than the surrounding text

• Boldface the font to provide emphasis

California ‘Junk Fee’ Bill SB 1524 Becomes Law: What It Means for Restaurants | Insights | Greenberg Traurig LLP

From SB 1524 text......... A mandatory fee or charge under clause (i) shall be 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.

SB 1524 goes on to say that by July 1, 2025, Sacramento will be providing guidance on what is meant by "clearly and conspicuously displayed" , meaning that whatever disclosures you're doing now may change.

Confusing, isn't it?

I am not an attorney and nothing I am writing should be relied on for legal advice.  But I put this out there because each of you have a requirement to disclose fees and wanted you to be aware.  Best if you reach out to your attorney for guidance.

Hope this helps

Glenn