Starbuck Ordered to Payback Tips

kmguru

kmguru

Staff member

Court orders Starbucks to pay workers $106 million

Starbuck taking workers tips - that is just wrong...unethical...corporate greed...

LOS ANGELES, March 20 (Reuters) - A San Diego Superior Court Judge ordered coffee chain Starbucks (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to pay $87 million plus interest to workers who say that their tips unfairly had been shared with supervisors.

David Lowe, lawyer for the workers, on Thursday said the total including interest amounted to some $106 million.

Starbucks in a statement said it would appeal the judgment, which also required that Starbucks cease letting supervisors share tips.

The ruling by Judge Patricia Cowett covers more than 100,000 current and former workers, known as baristas, who worked for Starbucks in California since late 2000, said Lowe, of firm of Rudy, Exelrod & Zieff.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN2044514720080321
 
Wow. That desperate huh.
Although, aren't supervisors working as well, Like aren't they serving etc?.
Or is this just the head office taking the tips ?.
 
If there's a contract that employees sign stating that they will share their tips with each other than I don't think the employees case holds up. Since we aren't told if there is a contract we will never be able to know the truth about this story.
 
cosmic if that was the case the judge would have ruled against the workers so either it ISNT the case or its an illegal contract (and we have enough of THOSE in Australia, just look at the office of the employment advocate whos doors are bursting off there hinges with illegal contracts)
 
Having been a consultant to the restaurant industry, usually the tips are split between waiter/waitress and the cleaning crew. The cash usually shared by that specific waitress and the table cleaner. The credit card tips are split based on an agreed on basis...sometimes all goes to that specific waitress that shows up on the pay check. In small places, at the end of the shift, the waitress takes the tip money and passes some to the table cleaner. Because tip money is taxable, therefore most people who know that usually leave cash on the table, which is not trackable. But large parties do not have a choice but to put it on credit card. In those cases the establishment charges a mandatory 15% to 20% service charge that is split between workers and cook based on company policy. This is where a company may decide to pay the manager from this fund as they are not gratis.
 
phlogistician said:
Sharing tips with management violates state law, apparently.
Click to expand...
It's certainly not very ethical. The people in direct contact with the customers have much lower salaries in general. Also the purpose of the tip is to reward the customer service of those staff directly in contact with the public. It is a strange system, but there it is. Those tips are about speed of response, politeness, helpfulness, smiles.
 
and I'm patting myself on my back for never ever buying anything at Starbucks. I bet our Mom & Pop coffee shop never do that kind of crap.
 
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