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It's unclear whether this junk fee law will have teeth. In theory, California has the same anti-drip pricing law, but restaurants have a specific carve out [1]

• dghlsakjg 3mo ago
  Fees on one time services are not what this is targeting. This legislation is not meant to address that, and wouldn't apply to that. They are going after recurring billing (that's what the headline means by "subscription"). It mentions things like gyms, online subscriptions etc. It would be pretty wild if they had managed to get service fees at restaurants when they were not at all targeting service fees, restaurants or one time in person purchases.
  • sxp 3mo ago
    From TFA: > Rule from Mamdani administration ... targets ‘junk fees’ > The city is also targeting so-called “junk fees” that raise the final price of everything from apartments to sporting events, with a proposed rule that requires sellers to “advertise the total price for any good or service, including all mandatory additional charges and fees, up front”, according to a release shared with the Guardian.
    • dnautics 3mo ago
      i think drip pricing was already cracked down on by the FTC as of 2025
    • ryandrake 3mo ago
      > proposed rule that requires sellers to “advertise the total price for any good or service, including all mandatory additional charges and fees, up front” This is going to be tough to enact, anywhere in the USA, even New York. There is nothing quite as American as "not knowing what you're going to pay for something until you have to pay." Whether it's your doctor bill, restaurant bill with tips and service fees, your hotel stay with a hidden resort fee, or just general purchases where tax is computed at the very end right before you pay... We are culturally so used to this abuse.
      • nemomarx 3mo ago
        I mean culturally we're used to it, but it seems really easy to test for and therefore fine businesses doing it in NYC? Just go ring up some purchase and see if they add a tax onto the listed price, and if they do report it.
        • saghm 3mo ago
          Agreed, this is totally solvable. You could even set up an email address for people to send pictures of their receipts to so they know who to investigate. Imagine if you could just screenshot a bill and send it to "junkfees@nyc.gov" and then they'd assign someone to look into it!
          • XorNot 3mo ago
            Also pre-emptively accepting defeat is by definition self-defeating. You don't know it won't work if it's not actually tried and as noted there's no particular reason to think it can't work.
      • baq 3mo ago
        You may find some bits of culture are easier to change than others and I wager this one falls squarely in the ‘surprisingly easy’ category.
      • kevin_thibedeau 3mo ago
        FTC has mandated all-in pricing for hotels since last year.
    • socalgal2 3mo ago
      The latest one for me is renting a new apartment, getting told it cost $XXXX a month, then being told I'm required to have $XXXXXX amount of renter's insurance at $XXX a month and oh, by the way, click here to use ours.
      • fibonachos 3mo ago
        The insurance requirement isn’t uncommon where I am (California). Though I would avoid whatever plan they are pushing. I got mine through my existing insurance provider and it worked out to ~$15 per month IIRC.
      • dml2135 3mo ago
        A requirement to obtain renter’s insurance is not an example of the type of fees this legislation is targeting.
        • SoftTalker 3mo ago
          It should also be illegal. If I want to risk loss of my personal property that should be my decision to make.
          • erentz 3mo ago
            It’s not your property they care about. They usually want this because it includes liability insurance if you damage their property or someone else’s, or your negligence causes harm to someone.
            • evolve2k 3mo ago
              In Australia we have very strong consumer protection law, here it’s expected (by the bank usually) the landlord has at least a minimum “landlord insurance” that covers all that stuff. For anything not covered, where a tenant does damage thats what the bond is for. Renter insurance should be optional. Actually I’m surprised that landlord insurance is not already occurring, imagine a building with 100 apartments, I’m sure the bank would ask the landlord to have a single cover over 100’s of little crappy policies. If renter insurance is required by regulations, this is likley another good target for policy change. Americans really do get screwed in so many ways.
• wnevets 3mo ago
  > which is bullshit because the drip pricing that most people complain about is the X% "service charges" and "lifestyle fees" that restaurants have at the bottom of their menu in small print. I don't think I go to the same restaurants as everyone else.
  • buzer 3mo ago
    It's unfortunately somewhat common these days and personally I actively avoid any place which does this. At least it's only somewhat common rather than the standard so it's still possible. Couple of examples: https://sushiconfidential.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sc_camp_fullmenu.pdf https://sushiconfidential.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sc_... "3.5% Living Wage Surcharge added to each bill which allows us to provide the service you have always enjoyed!" https://www.pacificcatch.com/menu/ https://www.pacificcatch.com/menu/ "NorCal - A 3% surcharge (5% in San Francisco) will be added to all Guest checks to help offset the rising cost of wages and benefits. This is not gratuity."
    • patrickmay 3mo ago
      Because increasing prices by that percentage is too hard?
      • LordAtlas 3mo ago
        They're trying their best to make it seem that government policies and regulation compliance costs are responsible, hence the names of these charges.
        • ryandrake 3mo ago
          Yea, it's basically restaurant owners trying to get their customers involved in their political whining. Notice how you never see things like "Business License Fee" or "Restaurant Electricity Bill Surcharge" listed out as separate line items on customers' bills. Those are things restaurant owners have to pay, too, so why don't they get their own charges to customers? Why does only "Living Wage" get a line item on the customer's bill?
• teaearlgraycold 3mo ago
  At least in CA they need to disclose them now. Previously some restaurants would just hit you with a surprise mandatory tip.
  • Rebelgecko 3mo ago
    Usually by the time people are seated and you read the fine print on the back of the menu, inertia has taken over.
    • baranul 3mo ago
      Exactly. Already decided to eat there and sat down. At that point, "whatever", for any noticed or not additional minor charges.
    • pkaye 3mo ago
      Some people say they use the fine print as a reminder to cut back on the tips proportionally.
  • no-name-here 3mo ago
    > CA Wasn’t the argument for tips that tipped workers had a low minimum wage, but CA now has a minimum for tipped workers of $16.90 (actually the same minimum wage for non tipped workers too)?
• xp84 3mo ago
  [flagged]
  • deleted 3mo ago
    [deleted]
• wewtyflakes 3mo ago
  The fact that Scott Wiener made that carve out for restaurants via emergency legislation (SB 1524) made my blood boil and I vowed to vote against him in any election is runs in.
• flyingshelf 3mo ago
  The worst part of restaurant fees are the people (both owners and somehow the patrons) that will justify the existence of the fee as if it's too difficult to just print the final price in the menu. I live in a touristy part of the world and effectively all restaurants above baseline level will have a "+7% service +11% tax" line. To me this is clearly deceptive practice.
  • mschuster91 3mo ago
    > I live in a touristy part of the world and effectively all restaurants above baseline level will have a "+7% service +11% tax" line. In Germany and Croatia, there is no % at all, the prices are final and include all taxes and fees by law and no one will bat an eye if you pay straight cash - however I personally always tip around 10%, simply because I was happy about that when I worked in hospitality myself.
    • SOLAR_FIELDS 3mo ago
      It’s not just Europe, most of the developed world works like this. Except for the United States
      • curation 3mo ago
        and canada
    • anilakar 3mo ago
      When I was in high school my German teacher taught us to tip by default by rounding up and paying with exact change. Is that still a thing when everyone is paying with card?
      • germanier 3mo ago
        Yes. Usually you tell the waiter the final round amount including tip you want to pay and then they start the card transaction with that. Paying in cash is still common at German restaurants though.