Ever get annoyed that an automatic tip has been added to your restaurant bill? An amendment added to a Florida public lodging bill Wednesday could restrict that to large parties and allow you to refuse it for bad service.
During a House panel discussion on HB 535 , which would make it easier to remove non-paying guests from public lodging and food service establishments, Rep. Demi Busatta, R-Coral Gables, defended her amendment which would restrict automatic gratuities to parties of six or more and require them to be based on pre-tax totals as well as state explicitly and by percentage who gets the tip.
“In Miami, we’ve seen a growing circumstance where all the restaurants are automatically including a 20% gratuity” or service charge or fee, she said, “not just on regular sit-down meals but on take-out as well as fast casual establishments.”…