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City Attorney Dennis Herrera has announced settlement agreements with 18 local restaurant businesses that voluntarily took part in his office's surcharge enforcement and amnesty program, which seeks to remedy shortfalls between amounts collected from customers to cover the cost of complying with San Francisco's universal healthcare law, and funds actually expended to provide health care benefits to employees. Together with an earlier settlement announced in January, Herrera's restaurant surcharge enforcement effort has now netted a total $844,644 to be distributed among approximately 1,500 eligible employees by 19 different companies.

The program announced in January included a one-time 50 percent amnesty offer for establishments with significant shortfalls -- provided they fully cooperate with city investigators; agree to good faith compliance with the employer spending requirement of San Francisco's Health Care Security Ordinance moving forward; and directly compensate their current and former employees who were the intended beneficiaries of the surcharges paid by customers. All agreements resolve potential disputes with the City over collected surcharges without admissions of liability.

Said Herrera: "I commend these businesses for working cooperatively with us so early in the process, and for understanding our duty to enforce the law even-handedly. These settlements reflect good faith efforts by restaurant owners and managers to do right by their employees, and to honor the intent of fees charged to their customers. I recognize that complying with groundbreaking programs like Healthy San Francisco can sometimes present new and unique challenges. So, I'm grateful to these businesses for their cooperation in reaching settlement agreements with us. I'm glad to continue patronizing these establishments, and I hope other San Franciscans and visitors will join me in doing so, too."

• News Release: "Restaurant workers net $844K restitution in 19 surcharge enforcement settlements so far; Herrera praises good faith efforts by restaurants 'to do right by their employees'; announces 'clean bills of health' for 12 other establishments targeted in investigation" (May 8, 2014)

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is engaged in litigation against Monster Beverage Corporation for violating California law with its marketing of highly-caffeinated energy drinks to children as young as six-years-old, despite scientific findings that such products may cause "significant morbidity in adolescents" from elevated blood pressure, brain seizures, and severe cardiac events.

City Attorney Herrera has launched a formal investigation into allegations that the State of Nevada was extensively involved in "patient dumping" -- busing hundreds of indigent people who suffer from mental health afflictions to out-of-state locations, including San Francisco, "with inadequate provisions of food and medication, and without prior arrangements for their care, housing or medical treatment upon arrival." The investigation remains ongoing.