Justice · Court of Public Opinion

Should the screen ask for a tip when you pick up your own order?

A customer orders a coffee and a pastry at the counter, taps a card, and the screen offers 18, 22 or 25 percent before the words no tip, while the cashier watches. Nobody carried anything to a table. A general question about a daily moment, not about any real shop or worker.

Side A: Just a question

Tips are most of what the team takes home. The screen asks a question; the customer answers it. A question is not a demand, and no one is forced to say yes.

Side B: Service, not a screen

Tipping was for service: a table, a waiter, a tray carried across a room. Handing me a bag over the counter is the job. A question asked while the worker watches is pressure.

Watch the hearing and vote

What the law says: A tip is voluntary; how pay works depends on where you are

• United States · federal: No law requires a tip, and a screen's suggestion is not a charge. Employers may count part of tips toward the minimum wage of tipped workers under federal law, though several states require the full minimum wage before tips. Tips belong to the workers; managers may not take a share. A federal tax deduction for reported tips applies for tax years 2025 to 2028, within limits.
• United Kingdom: Since October 2024 employers must pass on all tips, gratuities and service charges to workers without deductions, under a code of practice on fair allocation. A tip stays the customer's choice.
• Much of Europe: Service is usually included in the price and tipping is a small, optional round-up; a card screen asking for 20 percent is uncommon.

General information, labelled by place, checked October 2026. Not legal advice.

An AI-generated hearing for debate and learning. Simulation, not legal advice. Every AI-made voice, face and video is labelled.