A Redditor and Zaros customer posted a photo showing a 3% “employee benefits and retention surcharge” on their receipt.
New York and New Jersey airport frequenters have been complaining about this charge for over a year now, which the states implemented to offset the costs of a minimum wage increase.
Despite formal announcements, people still find themselves blindsided by the fee.
What’s with the employee benefits and retention surcharge?
On Nov. 12, 2024, the governors of New York and New Jersey issues a joint notice on new policies related to the increase of airport worker minimum wages. Next month, these workers will see a 75-cent bump in minimum pay, with yearly increases tied to the Consumer Price Index until 2032.
“Today, we are taking a significant step forward in ensuring that the hardworking individuals who serve in the region’s airports are paid fairly and equitably for their contributions,” said New York Governor Hochul.
“This proposal guarantees annual wage increases tied to the cost of living, providing workers with the stability they need to thrive, while ensuring their pay rises alongside the economy.”
To help airport shops pay for this increase, the states allowed them to add a fee of up to three percent of the total order, labeled as an “employee benefits and retention surcharge.” This only applies at the John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports.
This announcement clearly didn’t reach everybody. Complaints started rolling in around January 2025 as people noticed the surcharge. On Friday, u/elCompaFOKI posted a receipt that included this fee the Reddit forum r/EndTipping.
“Whatever that means,” they wrote.
While it benefits the staff, the fee is not a tip, as the receipt explicitly states.
“This surcharge is not a gratuity payable directly to staff,” it reads.
“Looks like they get a 3% tip”
The states of New York and New Jersey appear to have failed to get the word out on what this surcharge is about. This Reddit sub is in favor of ditching worker tips via increasing the minimum wage so that employees don’t have to pray their gratuities are high enough each shift to pay the bills.
“Advocating for a system where workers aren’t reliant on tips,” the description says.
Some Redditors declared it “fraud.”
“If it’s not disclosed on a sign or on the menu, it’s a fraud and you should have declined,” claimed u/sleeplessinseaatl.
“If it wasn’t disclosed to you prior to ordering, tell the manager to take it off,” said u/Yoriella. “They literally have to.”
Nothing in the 2024 announcement suggested that shops must disclose the fee up front.
Despite the forum claiming to care about workers, others suggested that anybody faced with this fee should tip less or not at all.
“Whether to reduce (or eliminate) your usual tip is a tipping issue,” u/darkroot_gardener asserted. “I say deduct at least the amount of the fee from your tip.”
“Looks like they get a 3% tip,” wrote u/budstud8. “And no more orders from me.”
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