‘Why do we have to pay for their employee benefits?’: A woman questions a charge on her JFK Airport Shake Shack receipt

A woman says her receipt from a Shake Shack location at JFK included a 48-cent charge that she questions, according to BroBible. The outlet states that Zoey, a TikTok user, posted a video about her visit. A Sept. 25, 2026 press release states the restaurant sits inside the terminal’s Center Node, part of JetBlue’s Terminal 5. The release adds that SSP America JFK T5, LLC runs it as a licensee of Shake Shack.

The report states the receipt lists “EMP BEN” at 48 cents. It quotes her as saying, “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.” It also quotes her asking, “Why do we have to pay for their employee benefits?”

The report adds that she describes a prompt 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, per the report. “I paid $18 and didn’t even get a drink.” The outlet stated it contacted her through email and a TikTok direct message. It also contacted Shake Shack through its press contact form and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey by email.

The 3% airport surcharge

Airport concessionaires may charge an Employee Benefits and Retention surcharge, capped at 3 percent of the bill before tax, the New York governor’s office states. The governors of New York and New Jersey and the Port Authority announced the surcharge on Nov. 12, 2024. The Port Authority’s board approved the policy in December 2024. It lets concessionaires set prices as much as 15 percent above what comparable products cost outside the airport.

It also provides for three $0.75 raises to the airport minimum wage, the first in January 2025 and the last in January 2026. Inc. reports that a customer buying pretzels from a Hudson store’s self-checkout at JFK saw a “3% EMP BEN” line appear on the screen. The report states that the Port Authority describes the surcharge as “intended to help provide annual wage increases for thousands of airport workers and help concessionaires offset labor-related costs tied to airport minimum-wage requirements and the Healthy Terminals Act.”

Truth in Advertising legal director Laura Smith said, “The name implies the money is going toward employee pay or benefits, but nothing in the Port Authority’s policy requires the surcharge actually be tracked or passed through to workers dollar-for-dollar.” The Healthy Terminals Act named in that description covers workers at JFK and LaGuardia.

The New York State Department of Labor states that, starting Jan. 1, 2026, covered private employers with 11 or more employees must provide health benefits for each of a worker’s first 40 hours in a week. They can do that through added wages or through contributions to an employer health plan. The law also requires paid holidays and paid vacation, which starts at two weeks after one year of employment.

Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act declares “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce” unlawful. The same report states that companies must deal truthfully with consumers under general FTC guidance, and adds, “If a business promises that a fee will be used for a particular purpose, it has to follow through or it could violate the FTC Act’s ban on deceptive practices.”