Class actions have been filed in Illinois and Colorado, while another could follow in California
Starbucks’ US-based staff are suing their employer after the coffee behemoth would not reimburse clothing expenditures made to comply with Starbucks’ new dress code, reported the Associated Press.
Class actions have been filed in Illinois and Colorado state courts. Complaints were also made to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency in California; if the agency fails to penalize Starbucks, the workers will also file a class action there.
The dress code was implemented on May 12 and required employees to wear all black shirts and denim bottoms in khaki, black or blue under their aprons, or black dresses no shorter than four inches above the knee. Shoes had to be in black, gray, dark blue, brown, tan, or white and made from waterproof material; any design on socks and hosiery had to be muted.
The code also banned face tattoos, more than one facial piercing, and tongue piercings. Staff who did not comply with the code would not be permitted to go on shift.
Starbucks wrote in a memo that each employee would receive two free T-shirts. However, staff who sought to have dress code compliance-related expenses reimbursed were rebuffed.
The class actions alleged that the dress code breached state laws requiring companies to compensate workers for costs that were mainly to the employer’s benefit. Per one suit, the code also violated Colorado law, which does not permit employers to impose expenses on workers without written consent.
California-based employee Brooke Allen claimed that she spent US$86.95 to purchase clothes and shoes that met the dress code.
“I think it’s extremely tone deaf on the company’s part to expect their employees to completely redesign their wardrobe without any compensation. A lot of us are already living paycheck to paycheck,” Allen said in a statement published by AP News.
The dress code’s introduction had been met with backlash in April; barista Jasmine Leli, who is also a union bargaining delegate with Starbucks Workers United, criticized Starbucks for choosing to implement a dress code instead of tackling issues that had affected baristas for years.
