Effective
January 1, 2014, automatic gratuities in the hospitality industry (for
example, an automatic 18% tip for parties of six or more) will be
treated by the IRS as service charges rather than tips.
Unlike
optional tips which the employee bears the responsibility of reporting,
these service charges will be viewed as wages and the employer will be
responsible for reporting them. Additionally, employers should be aware
that any such service charges will be considered part of the employee's
regular rate of pay for purposes of calculating the overtime rate.
Is it a tip?
Generally all of the following factors must be met:
1) The payment must be made free of compulsion;
2) The customer must have the unrestricted right to determine the amount of the payment;
3) The payment may not be dictated by employer policy or be the subject of negotiation; and
4) Generally the customer must have the right to determine who gets the payment.
Each state has its own unemployment tax system and each are
slightly different but they generally operate within a similar framework. Employers are assessed a tax that goes into a
fund that is used to pay for unemployment claims. The tax rate each business is assigned varies
according to two primary elements.
First, how much your former employees take out of the general fund in the
form of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The second is the ratio of those UI benefit costs compared to the level
of payroll. In Oregon, the State
Unemployment Insurance tax rate is based on a rolling three year average (How UI Rates are Determined). Thus the UI benefits that have been paid to former
employees are charged against your tax rate for three years. 
