Danny Meyer restaurants to ban tipping

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Restaurateur Danny Meyer -- who owns eateries across the country through the Union Square Hospitality Group -- says he is banning tipping from all his establishments. Modern, inside the Museum of Modern Art, will be the first to eliminate tipping of its staff and the other restaurants will follow by the end of the year, reported the NY Times.

In a public letter, Meyer wrote that "hospitality is a team sport" and that unfortunately cooks, reservationists, and dishwashers are among many classifications of workers who aren't eligible for tips because of labor laws.

"After a thoughtful, company-wide dialogue, I'm proud to let you know that Union Square Hospitality Group will eliminate tipping throughout our family of restaurants," he wrote. "Starting at The Modern in late November, you will no longer find a tip line on your check, and there will be no need to leave additional cash at the table, the coat check, or the bar." He said other New York restaurants will transition over the course of 2016.

"We’ve been talking internally with all the employees about this goal of how do you really improve or create more meaningful career and financial growth opportunities for the people who work at this company," Kate Lindquist, the director of public relations, told the Times.