Starbucks to serve up $35M in backpay to NYC baristas in city’s largest worker protection settlement

Starbucks will pay $38.9 million in civil penalties and barista backpay after violating New York City’s Fair Workweek Law in the city’s largest worker protection settlement ever, officials said Monday.

The settlement stems from a 2022 investigation and subsequent lawsuit by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, who found that, since 2021, Starbucks committed more than half a million violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law, which provides workers with protections like the right to a predictable schedule. The department found Starbucks was illegally denying thousands of workers across more than 300 locations the right to stable and predictable schedules, as well as the right to pick up additional hours and earn more.

”For too long, Starbucks has acted with impunity: manipulating schedules, disrespecting workers, and ignoring legal protections put into place by New Yorkers to protect working people from unfair business practices,” said Lynne Fox, the international president of Workers United, which Starbucks employees are unionized under. “The settlement money awarded to Starbucks baristas will help them make ends meet this winter.”

Starbucks will pay all city baristas $50 per week they worked between July 4, 2021 and July 7, 2024, totaling $35.5 million in backpay, as well as $3.4 million in civil penalties and costs. Those who worked continuously for a year and a half during that time period can expect to receive a roughly $3,900 check this winter, the city said.

The settlement also requires the company to comply with the law going forward.

The ruling comes as thousands of Starbucks baristas in NYC and across the country remain on an Unfair Labor Practices strike and are demanding a fair union contract that memorializes job protections, better staffing, and higher pay.

“When this company cuts our hours, understaffs our stores and busts our union, it makes it harder for us to do our job and create that great experience for customers,” said Kai Fritz, a unionized Brooklyn barista, in a Monday statement. “This settlement is a step in the right direction…We are continuing to fight back against Starbucks’ greed and will not stop until we have a fair contract that ensures the support and protections we need to thrive.”

When asked for comment, Starbucks called the Fair Workweek Law “notoriously challenging for businesses to navigate,” shared a statement saying the backpay “compensation is about compliance, not unpaid wages,” and said “even minor schedule changes can trigger a violation under the law.”

“We support the intent of the [Fair Workweek] Law and remain committed to compliance, but its complexity creates real-world challenges,” the company’s statement reads.

Mayor Eric Adams commended Monday’s settlement in a statement issued by City Hall.

​​“It does not matter how big your business is or how much money your company makes, if you violate our workers’ rights, you will pay the price,” said Adams. “With this landmark settlement, we’ll put tens of millions of dollars back into the pockets of hard-working New Yorkers and reinforce every New Yorker’s right to a reliable schedule, full hours, and basic dignity.”

About 15,000 baristas should expect backpay checks, according to city officials.