Thursday, April 07, 2011
Thousands of employees have won their lawsuit against Starbucks for allowing supervisors to take tips meant for non-management. A federal judge in Boston awarded a summary judgment to 2,500 baristas who claimed Starbucks’ policy violated the Massachusetts law governing the distribution of tips.
Company lawyers argued unsuccessfully that supervisors were considered wait staff, not managers, because like baristas, they are part-time, hourly-wage workers.
Similar lawsuits were previously filed in Minnesota and California, but plaintiffs in those cases lost their battles against Starbucks.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Starbucks Baristas Win Class Action Over Tips (by Adam Klasfeld, Courthouse News Service)
Hernan Matamoros et al. v. Starbucks (U.S. District Court, Massachusetts) (pdf)
Baristas' Suit Against Starbucks May Proceed as Class Action in Mass. Federal Court (by Sheri Qualters, National Law Journal)
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