As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the restaurant industry, Adams County has capped the amount of fees third-party delivery services can charge restaurants.

Effective immediately, third-party food delivery services cannot charge retail food establishments more than 15% of the total purchase price, excluding gratuities, taxes and other fees.

Delivery services are also banned from garnishing tips or lowering wages of delivery workers to compensate for any diminished revenues resulting from the cap.

The cap will expire when indoor capacity restrictions for restaurants are lifted in Adams County.

“As the state has enacted stricter safety protocols that currently prohibit indoor dining in Adams County, we wanted to make sure they aren’t taken advantage of when offering takeout to their customers,” said Emma Pinter, Board of County Commissioners chair.

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Third-party delivery services also cannot list a restaurant’s information without written consent, cannot charge restaurants for customer phone calls that don’t result in an order and must give customers receipts that clearly state all fees.

Adams County restaurants can submit online complaints at adcogov.org to report any violations of the new rules.

All complaints will be investigated. If determined valid, the third-party delivery service will have 10 days to correct the violation or face a fine for $100 per violation instance plus the commission or fee charged to the restaurant.