I've only seen it in cities that have a higher minimum wage than state.

In San Diego it only seems to be at the more expensive end of the restaurant business. They put a sob-story on the menu explaining how they are going to add 3% to my check or else the minimum wage law will drive them out of business. Unfortunately it has the opposite effect for me and makes me think twice about supporting a business who will charge me $40+ for an entree but admit to not paying their staff a living wage.

Yeah I can't imagine taking that kind of bullshit argument seriously. Did the owner complain about finding nearby parking for his Bugatti, too?

Maybe some companies should add a disclaimer "Our CEO needs a new yacht surcharge" to achieve full disclosure :-)

It’s not all of California. It’s just in the places with their own higher minimum wage like SF or LA. I’ve seen it a bunch of times, mostly at small family owned restaurants.

>It’s not all of California. It’s just in the places with their own higher minimum wage like SF or LA. I’ve seen it a bunch of times, mostly at small family owned restaurants.

if the menu lists a price for a dish, how is it legal to tack on an extra 3% because the owner doesn't like the minimum wage in SF?

Yea I've always wondered that. It's supposed to be included in prices (unlike sales taxes) like any other cost, so how are they able to legally get away with advertising a lower cost than they charge? Would it be similar (from a legal perspective) if they added an electricity surcharge or a dishwashing surcharge and lowered their menu prices accordingly?

I'm all for more transparency of taxes for the end-payer, but I'm curious about this from a legal perspective.

Someone replied with an article that they were legal, but that article mentioned the surcharge must be disclosed prior to ordering. I suspect there's wiggle room for a good lawyer if they're using mouseprint or not making sure ordering services like Grubhub accurately disclose the charge.

In San Diego the surcharges were deemed legal: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/restaurants/sd...

It's pretty common, and not just in California. Here are some examples from WA.

http://www.workingwa.org/action/surcharge/list

It's becoming more and more common, at least in the Bay Area. I know several places in downtown Palo Alto that do this.