DC recently eliminated the tipped minimum wage and tipping culture is definitely in flux. Mostly because many restaurants have started adding a 10-20% service charge (called various things, like a “restaurant recovery fee”) to make up for the higher wages, which they claim is not a tip. But many diners interpret this as a mandatory tip and do not tip additionally, or if they do, they tip a lower amount than they previously would.
If a company is charging me a service or recovery fee that is a percentage of my bill, I am taking it out of the tip. If they want to use that money to pay the expense that is their employees, they can make it part of the cost of the food, just like everything else. It's not like I pay a separate lease fee or food inspection fee or menu printing fee or electrical hookup fee or whatever.
Paying your employees a decent wage is part of running a business. It's disgusting when bosses pull tricks like this to try to lay the blame on their employees.