Poster's Story Title:   Starbucks lawsuit Name Of Establishment:   Starbucks Location:   NYC Story:   Speaking of Starbucks, now comes another big, embarrassing dispute for the coffee chain. A former barista filed a lawsuit on Thursday in United States District Court in Manhattan, accusing Starbucks of cheating thousands of baristas in New York State by giving a share of their tips to shift supervisors. Lawyers for the barista, Jeana Barenboim, of Brooklyn, point to a state law that says no employer or agent of an employer can accept, directly or indirectly, part of an employee’s tips. The lawsuit was inspired by a ruling two weeks ago in which a state judge in San Diego awarded $105 million to baristas throughout California, finding that the company had improperly allowed shift supervisors to share in the tip pool. At the more than 7,000 Starbucks coffee shops across the United States, the baristas leave out a tip jar. The workers pool the money each week, then the shift supervisors and baristas typically divide that money based on how many hours each employee worked. Maimon Kirschenbaum, one of the lawyers who brought the case in New York, said, “We’re making literally the same pitch as was made in the California case, that Starbucks let the shift supervisor partake in the tip jar.” He is asking a federal district judge to make the case a class action on behalf of all baristas in New York State. The $105 million award in California stung the Seattle company’s management team at a time when sales in the company’s shops have dropped for the first time ever; Starbucks is even closing some of its shops. In a voice-mail message to employees last week, Howard Schultz, the company’s chairman and chief executive, called the California ruling “extremely unfair and beyond reason.” “I want to personally let you know that we would never condone any type of behavior that would lead anyone to conclude that we would take money from our people,” Mr. Schultz said. Starbucks said it would appeal the California verdict, asserting that the shift supervisors do work much like rank-and-file baristas. In New York, Starbucks has been hit by other problems. The Industrial Workers of the World is pushing to unionize many Starbucks shops in New York City. Last April, the National Labor Relations Board charged Starbucks with breaking the law 30 times in fighting the unionization effort. Daniel Gross, one of the leaders of the unionization drive, said that after the California ruling, baristas in New York began debating whether shift supervisors should share in the tips. “It’s a very divisive issue,” he said. “A lot of baristas feel that shift supervisors are part of our team, that they’re absolutely on the floor with us, making drinks. Others don’t feel that sense of camaraderie with them.” Liberté Locke, a barista at the Starbucks on Union Square East, admits feeling torn over the issue. “On one hand, Starbucks sees them as management,” she said. “They handle the cash. They handle the keys. They lock the doors. They run the stores when managers are away. They have power to discipline baristas through performance reviews. But on the other hand they are paid significantly less than the other managers, and they often work along side of us.” She added: “So part of me feels that they should be able to receive part of the tips. But under the language of the law, I feel they shouldn’t receive tips.” Ms. Locke said that she is paid $10.03 an hour after three years on the job, while one shift supervisor she works with makes $10.25 an hour after three years with Starbucks. Several baristas estimated that they receive between $1.20 an hour and $1.80 an hour in tips. the lawyers said, “The fact that shift supervisors are underpaid doesn’t mean that baristas should bear the brunt of that.” Last month in a federal lawsuit in Houston, Starbucks reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with 350 assistant managers who asserted that they were required to work off the clock. Starbucks faces similar lawsuits in Florida and California. Response Story:   Isn,t maimon kirchenbaum the lawyer that brought down Smith & Wollensky and yet their managers are still shaking down the wait staff for money, why is that still happening ? perhaps mr. stillman has not yet learned his lesson.