Verdicts & Settlements
Court Leaves Starbucks Baristas $100M Tip
Posted Mar 21, 2008, 04:39 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A San Diego judge has ruled that Starbucks must pay its California baristas $86 million plus interest for forcing them to share tips with supervisors.
Judge Patricia Cowett based her ruling on a California law that bars employers or their agents from taking tips meant for hourly workers, the Recorder reports. Cowett said shift supervisors were managers and therefore not permitted to share the tips, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
With interest, the total take for coffee servers in the state will be $105.8 million, plaintiffs lawyers told the Chronicle.