Florida Expands Mandatory Fee Disclosure Requirements for Restaurants and Hospitality Businesses in ‘Operations Charge’ Statute

Key Takeaways

• Effective July 1, 2026, Florida law expands disclosure requirements for mandatory customer fees – now broadly defined as “operations charges.”
• The law applies broadly to public food service establishments, including restaurants, hospitality businesses and many private or member-only clubs, regardless of size, and requires clear disclosure of the existence, amount and purpose of operations charges on menus, websites, apps, contracts and receipts.
• Certain nonprofit fraternal or civic organizations may be excluded from the statute’s coverage, but exemption depends on an entity’s organizational status, operations and documentation, not merely its private or membership-based nature.
• Automatic gratuities must be separately identified, and mandatory fees may create wage-and-hour implications if redistributed to employees.
• Enforcement will be handled by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), with potential fines and licensing consequences for noncompliance.

New Operations Charge Law Effective July 1, 2026

On June 2, 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 606 into law, significantly expanding disclosure requirements for mandatory fees charged by public food establishments. The amendments to Section 509.214, Florida Statutes, take effect July 1, 2026, and will impact a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, hotels, catering companies and other food service and hospitality operators.

While formal guidance from regulators has not yet been issued, businesses operating in Florida should begin evaluating their menus, websites, customer receipts, point-of-sale (POS) systems and wage practices to ensure compliance before the law takes effect.

What Is an Operations Charge?

Under the amended statute, an “operations charge” is broadly defined as any mandatory fee or charge – other than a government-imposed tax – required to be paid in addition to the stated price of food or beverages.

Examples include:

• Service charges
• Automatic gratuities
• Credit card surcharges
• Delivery fees
• Split plate fees

This definition significantly expands prior law, which focused primarily on automatic gratuities and service charges, and captures a wider range of common pricing practices.

Applicability to Private Clubs and Small Businesses

The law applies to “public food service establishments,” a term defined broadly under Chapter 509, Florida Statutes, to include any place where food is regularly prepared, served or sold for immediate consumption on or near the premises. Coverage depends on the nature of the food service operation, not on the size of the business.

Private and Member-Only Clubs

Private and member-only clubs are not automatically exempt from Chapter 509. Coverage generally turns on whether food is regularly prepared, served or sold for immediate consumption, rather than solely on whether the establishment is open to the general public.

That said, Chapter 509 provides a limited statutory exclusion from the definition of a “public food service establishment” for an eating place that is:

• Maintained and operated by a religious, nonprofit fraternal or nonprofit civic organization, and
• Used solely by members and their associates (or operated temporarily for certain qualifying events identified in the statute), rather than the public at large.

Importantly, the statute does not supply a detailed test for what “nonprofit” or “fraternal” means. As a result, the most defensible approach is to treat the exclusion as turning on (1) documented organizational status, (2) maintenance and operational control over the eating place and (3) compliance with the statute’s use limitations – not merely on how the entity labels itself.

Small Businesses and Mom-and-Pop Operations

The statute does not include any exemptions based on the business’s size, revenue or number of locations. Small restaurants and independently owned mom-and-pop establishments are subject to the same disclosure requirements as larger operators if they qualify as public food service establishments under Chapter 509.

For these businesses, compliance may require particular attention to:

• Menu formatting and font size for operations charge disclosures
• Receipt configuration and POS system capabilities
• The consistent labeling of tips versus mandatory charges to avoid wage-and-hour issues

Because many smaller businesses rely on legacy menus, handwritten signage or basic POS systems, early review and planning will be especially important to ensure compliance by the July 1, 2026 effective date.

New Disclosure Requirements

Wage-and-Hour Implications for Employers

The distinction between voluntary tips and mandatory operations charges carries significant wage-and-hour consequences under both Florida law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act:

• Tips generally remain the property of the employee and may be treated differently for minimum-wage and tip-credit purposes.
• Operations charges are typically the employer’s funds unless and until redistributed to employees.
• When redistributed, operations charge amounts may affect an employee’s regular rate of pay and overtime calculations.

Because the amended statute emphasizes transparency and labeling, inconsistencies between customer disclosures, payroll practices and internal policies may heighten wage-and-hour risk, particularly where mandatory charges are treated as gratuities in practice.

Enforcement and Risk Exposure

The amended statute does not create a private right of action. Enforcement authority rests with the DBPR, which may assess compliance through inspections and administrative proceedings.

Potential consequences may include:

• Administrative fines (which, under existing statutory and regulatory frameworks, generally range from $100 to $1,000 per violation)
• Licensing consequences for repeat or egregious violations

Although the penalty framework specific to the amended disclosure requirements has not yet been fully articulated, deficiencies may be identified during routine inspections by the DBPR. Businesses should also be aware that local ordinances may impose additional or more prescriptive disclosure obligations that operate alongside the state statute.

Recommended Next Steps for Florida Employers

In advance of the July 1, 2026 effective date, businesses with Florida operations should consider taking a proactive, enterprise-wide approach to compliance, including:

1. Reviewing mandatory customer charges and related disclosures to assess which fees may qualify as operations charges and how those charges are presented across menus, websites, mobile platforms and written agreements
2. Evaluating receipt and POS capabilities to confirm that required charges can be clearly itemized in a manner consistent with the statute
3. Assessing wage-and-hour practices to ensure alignment between customer disclosures, internal compensation structures and overtime calculations
4. Reviewing relevant third-party arrangements, such as online ordering or delivery platforms, for consistency with applicable disclosure obligations
5. Preparing management and customer-facing personnel regarding the purpose and structure of disclosed charges

How We Can Help

Our Labor and Employment and Hospitality Teams are monitoring developments related to Florida’s operations charge law and are available to assist with compliance reviews, wage-and-hour analyses and the implementation of strategies tailored to your operations.

If you would like guidance on how this law may affect your business, please contact a member of our Labor and Employment Team.