During last year’s session, the Florida Legislature passed several laws that negatively impacted Walt Disney World cast members, and it appears that more such laws are on their way this year. Last year’s session resulted in two specific laws that impacted cast members.
During last year’s legislative session, the Florida Legislature passed a law stripping workers of protection from extreme heat, including mandatory water breaks and other basic protections from the Florida heat. House Bill 433 prohibits local governments from passing legislation that protects workers from extreme heat and laws requiring companies to raise the minimum wage beyond the state’s current $12 an hour.
For obvious reasons, this law made it more difficult for Disney World and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the Board that oversees Disney World property, to pass laws mandating heat breaks for its employees. In the Florida heat, this made cast members’ lives much more difficult.
The Florida Legislature also passed HB 1365, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed it. The bill essentially criminalized homelessness by making it illegal to sleep on public property throughout the state.
This impacted the small number of cast members who found themselves temporarily or permanently unhoused. This bill came when local governments began cracking down on people sleeping in their cars, another option for unhoused cast members.
Now, the Florida Legislature is considering a bill that could severely limit tipping at Walt Disney World Resort restaurants. HB 353 started as a bill that would make it easier for restaurants to remove patrons who refused to pay their bills.
However, an amendment was added to the bill that would eliminate automatic gratuity and service charges on bills. The amendment also allows customers to remove a gratuity for six or more people, something common in the restaurant business, if someone in the party complains about the service. Disney World restaurants add a gratuity of 18 percent for parties of six or more.
This bill could adversely impact cast members who rely on tips to survive. The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, of which Disney is a member, said that this amendment hurts businesses who are trying to ensure their staff are paid fairly, especially with international visitors where tipping is not common. A spokesman for the association said:
While we understand consumer fatigue surrounding service charges at businesses where it does not make sense for there to be gratuity, many restaurants in Florida and across the U.S. use service charges as a key tool for ensuring service and success. Florida statutes already require that a service charge notification appear on the menu and on the customer’s receipt.
For cast members, the slightest error with a large table could cost them the tips it took them hours to make. Any “Karen” could completely ruin their shift.
For now, the Florida Legislature is debating whether to keep this amendment in the bill. It remains to be seen if they will go ahead with it.
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