I once heard a lawyer explain that tipping is legally problematic.
Service quality affects tip amount very little (~1%), but what does affect it is race, age, and gender. The result is that people doing the same job are being paid meaningfully differently. While the policy isn't discriminatory, the effect of it is, which means that it would likely run afoul of EEOC rules.
The lawyer said if anyone brought a pay discrimination case to them based on tipping they would strongly consider taking it to court.
Service quality affects tip amount very little (~1%), but what does affect it is race, age, and gender. The result is that people doing the same job are being paid meaningfully differently. While the policy isn't discriminatory, the effect of it is, which means that it would likely run afoul of EEOC rules.
The lawyer said if anyone brought a pay discrimination case to them based on tipping they would strongly consider taking it to court.