Via iStockphoto / @sunshineflowers970 TikTok
A Shake Shack customer says she was charged a fee for ’employee benefits.’ What does this mean, and is it even legal?
A traveler recently visited Shake Shack at JFK Airport in New York. She found a mysterious 48-cent charge on her receipt. What does it mean?
In a video with over 15,000 views, TikTok user Zoey (@sunshineflowers970) explains that she recently visited the airport Shake Shack. Upon looking at her receipt, one detail caught her eye.
“Shake Shack not only charges $11 for a chicken sandwich and $5 for fries, but now wants us to pay 48 cents for employee benefits,” she states.
She shows the receipt in question. There is a line item for “EMP BEN.” The charge is 48 cents.
“Why do we have to pay for their employee benefits?” Zoey asks.
Zoey complains that not only was she paying for employee benefits but that she was prompted to tip “so that they could take the bag from the employees in the back and hand it to you.”
“I just think it’s getting really out of hand,” she concludes. “I paid $18 and didn’t even get a drink.”
It’s worth noting this specific location is operated by a company called SSP, not Shake Shack directly.
JFK’s Shake Shack: What Is This Charge?
Yes—and there’s a reason for it.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey tightly regulates the prices businesses can charge at airports—or, at least, it’s supposed to. For example, businesses at JFK Airport are generally only allowed to charge up to 15% above comparable off-airport “street prices.”
This means that if a burger costs $10 outside of the airport, it should only cost a maximum of $11.50 inside the airport. That said, many have complained that places with these rules have poor enforcement.
Outside of this limit, the Port Authority allows airport concessionaires to add up to a 3% surcharge. This “Employee Benefits and Retention Surcharge” is charged on top of a customer’s pre-tax bill.
According to the Port Authority of New York, this fee was added to allow companies to offset high operating costs due to rising labor and benefit prices.
Do The Employees Actually Get This Money?
Not directly.
One might think that, with a name like “Employee Benefits and Retention Surcharge,” the money must be going into the pockets of employees—or, at least, paying for their benefits.
However, there’s not actually language within the legislation that requires the money collected to be passed on to workers dollar-for-dollar. As noted by Inc., a company utilizing this surcharge could be opened up to fraud allegations if the money isn’t, in some form or another, being used to provide employee benefits. Still, there does not appear to be a mechanism to directly account for how this money is used.
It should be noted that workers at Shake Shack in JFK do appear to receive full benefits. An Indeed listing notes that team members at the restaurant can expect health insurance, 401(k) matching, paid time off, vision insurance, dental insurance, and more.
Consumers Are Fed Up
As prices for everyday goods continue to skyrocket, people are looking at their receipts with eagle eyes. Mainly, this is to see if businesses have overcharged them. Sometimes, this inspection can result in charges one wouldn’t expect.
In the comments section, users expressed dismay at this fee. According to some commenters, they felt they were being expected to pay a fee to help companies do things they should be doing anyway.
“If they are adding benefits to the employees separately then what are they paying them?! Just straight pay only?” asked a user.
“So you want employers to pay for employee benefits, but YOU don’t want to pay the extra cost for your items that you know that will cause. Got it,” added another.
“That should be illegal! how are these places getting away with these kind of charges!” exclaimed a third.
BroBible reached out to Zoey via email and TikTok direct message as well as to Shake Shack via press contact form. We’ve contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via email.
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