February 1, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Anderson, Clack, Accavitti, Miller, Farrah, Hopgood, Gillard, Gonzales, Sak, Gleason, Vagnozzi and Byrnes and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
A bill to require certain food service establishments to give
notice of certain charges; and to prescribe penalties for a
violation of this act.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. As used in this act:
(a) "Automatic gratuity" means a sum that is required by a
food service establishment in addition to the charge for a meal,
drink, or other product and is given by the food service
establishment to its staff in recognition of the service provided
by the staff to a customer or group of customers.
(b) "Banquet" means an event not open generally to the public
and occurring in a food service establishment where the
establishment is hired to serve food in honor or commemoration of a
particular guest, group of individuals, or occasion.
(c) "Food service establishment" means that term as defined in
section 1107 of the food law of 2000, 2000 PA 92, MCL 289.1107.
(d) "Service charge" means a charge imposed by a food service
establishment that is not related to a specific service or product.
Sec. 2. (1) If a food service establishment charges an
automatic gratuity or imposes a service charge, the food service
establishment shall include upon each bill and upon either the menu
or upon a poster placed conspicuously in the customer service area
of the food service establishment a notice of the automatic
gratuity or service charge. The notice required under this
subsection shall be printed in a size and format that is
conspicuous and easily readable. The notice required under this
subsection shall include at least the amount of the automatic
gratuity or service charge, expressed either as a fixed dollar
amount or as a percentage of the total bill.
(2) If a food service establishment imposes a service charge
and if only a portion of the service charge will be given to staff,
the food service establishment shall include in the notice required
under subsection (1) the percentage of the service charge that will
be retained by the food service establishment.
(3) If a food service establishment charges an automatic
gratuity, it shall ensure that all of the automatic gratuity is
distributed to the appropriate staff.
(4) This section does not apply to a food service
establishment or caterer when serving a banquet but does apply to
that part of a food service establishment open to the general
public and not serving the banquet.
Sec. 3. A food service establishment that violates section 2
is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be ordered to
pay a civil fine of not more than $50.00 for a first violation and
not more than $500.00 for a second or subsequent violation
occurring within a 24-month period.
Sec. 4. This act takes effect 90 days after the date it is
enacted.