Restaurants in World Cup host cities are slapping 20% service charges on bills as owners are concerned visiting soccer fans won’t tip their staff

Restaurant associations in Missouri and Pennsylvania recommended earlier this year that restaurants in Kansas City and Philadelphia add an automatic 20% gratuity onto their checks for the duration of the World Cup, which is scheduled to run for just over a month from June 11 to July 19.

In the U.S., tipped workers earn below the $7.25 federal minimum wage, which hasn’t been raised since 2009. The employer is required to pay $2.13 in hourly wages only if the amount a worker receives in tips at least equals the federal minimum wage. Employers must make up the difference if that’s not the case.

The Post spoke with Daniel McLaughlin, the owner of a 140-seat Mexican restaurant called Mission Taqueria in Philadelphia. McLaughlin has put in place a 20% service charge to ensure that his tipped staff — or half of the restaurant’s 50 employees — don’t experience a sharp drop in income from international customers who may not be acquainted with the common U.S. habit of tipping after food and drinks.

“It would be a real bummer for it to be super busy and for our tipped employees to not benefit from that in any way,” McLaughlin told the Post. “We just want to make sure all of our tipped employees are seeing the same benefit as the business, hopefully.”

Service charges, though, don’t always go entirely to restaurant staff. They belong to the employer, who can then choose how to spend it. In addition, these charges are subject to state and local sales taxes since they count as restaurant revenue.

Tipping differences abroad

In many European countries, tipping isn’t the norm because most servers earn enough money without them.

Travel guru and famous guidebook writer Rick Steves once illustrated the stark differences between Europe and the U.S. on their tipping culture. He observed that in north and eastern Europe, the service charge is typically included in menu prices. It varies along southern Europe since some service establishments will include it in the menu price, while others add it to the check.

“Servers are paid a living wage, and tips are considered a small bonus — to reward great service or for simplicity in rounding the total bill to a convenient number,” Steves wrote. “In many countries, five percent is adequate and 10 percent is considered a nice tip. Locals just leave coins on the table, round up, or often don’t tip at all.”

Tipmania in America?

Beyond the World Cup, service charges are more common throughout an American restaurant industry that’s long accustomed to slim profit margins.