NY high court eyes who can tap Starbucks' tip jars
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's top court will give its two cents into the brewing controversy over Starbucks baristas' tip jars: whether shift supervisors and assistant managers are legally entitled to dip into them. The Court of Appeals was asked by a federal court to interpret New York's labor law and its definition of an employer's "agent," who is prohibited from tip sharing.
On one side are low-level baristas who serve customers and share tips weekly based on hours worked. On the other side are assistant managers who don't get any gratuities and want some. In between are shift supervisors with limited management responsibilities who serve customers and also share tips.
At issue is the New York definition of a company "agent" who by law must keep his or her hands out of the tip jar. Hospitality industry groups say the state court decision will be felt far beyond Starbucks and affect 42,000 New York businesses statewide and a quarter-million hospitality industry workers in New York City alone
The questions came from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which is currently reviewing separate lawsuits against Starbucks by baristas and by assistant managers, who want to get in on the cash. "Starbucks has not seriously disputed that its shift supervisors are supervisors," attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan argued in her brief. She filed it on behalf of Jeana Barenboim, Jose Ortiz and any other baristas who oppose sharing tips weekly with the supervisors who also assign job stations, coordinate breaks and receive higher wages.
Read more at http://www.legislativegazette.com/publicationreturnframe.lasso?-token.address=http%3a%2f%2fhosted.ap.org%2fdynamic%2fstories%2fN%2fNY_BARISTA_TIPS_NYOL-%3fSITE%3dNYMID%26SECTION%3dHOME%26TEMPLATE%3dDEFAULT
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