Litigation over food-and-beverage service charges is increasing. A California appellate court recently held that mandatory service charges added by banquet facilities to their contracts may need to be paid to banquet service employees essentially as a gratuity. Lawsuits also have been filed recently against food delivery provider DoorDash by customers in California and the District of Columbia government alleging that the company improperly kept part of tips provided to delivery drivers, misleading customers who thought that their entire tip would go to the driver.
