Starbucks Corp baristas in New York sued the popular coffee chain for more than $5 million on Thursday, joining employees from other regions who say they were unfairly forced to share tips with shift supervisors.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Manhattan, seeks class action status for more than 2,000 Starbucks hourly employees, who are referred to as baristas.
In March, a San Diego Superior Court Judge ordered Starbucks to pay roughly $106 million to more than 100,000 current and former workers employed at California Starbucks stores since late 2000.
Starbucks in a statement said it would appeal the California judgment, which also required that Starbucks cease letting supervisors share tips.
Baristas from other areas, including Massachusetts, are also challenging the company’s tipping policy.
“Unfortunately, copy-cat lawsuits have been filed. We intend to vigorously fight these lawsuits,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Starbucks said it believes that customers do not differentiate between baristas and shift supervisors, all of whom are hourly employees. Store managers and assistant store managers do not receive tips, Starbucks said.