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DCWP Vilda Vera Mayuga (left) picketed with striking Starbucks Workers United members in Lower Manhattan, Nov. 20, 2025. Credit: Claudia Irizarry Aponte\/THE CITY<\/p>\n
The terms of the settlement reveal the breadth of the coffee giant\u2019s violations of the law: Starbucks agreed to pay $35.5 million to approximately 15,000 people who were employed at one of more than 300 New York City locations from July 4, 2021 until July 7, 2024. The company also agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $3.4 million and to comply with the law going forward.<\/p>\n
In all, the company violated the law more than half a million times since 2021, logging violations at all but one of its New York City locations, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chelsea<\/a>, according to DCWP official Elizabeth Wagoner.<\/p>\n Officials said it is the largest worker protection settlement in New York City history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seattle-based Starbucks \u201csystematically\u201d violated the law because they \u201cthought they could get away with it,\u201d DCWP commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga told THE CITY.<\/p>\n \u201cTo workers: understand that the government is on your side. DCWP is going to be looking into matters and getting the restitution that you deserve, and we\u2019re going to be enforcing the law \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter how big a company is, if it\u2019s a multi-billion-dollar company,\u201d Mayuga said. \u201cWe are committed to holding these companies accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n A Starbucks spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Starbucks\u2019 failure to comply with the law illegally denied workers\u2019 rights to stable and predictable schedules, as well as the opportunity to pick up additional shifts and earn more money. The company routinely unlawfully reduced workers\u2019 schedules such that many did know how much money they would make week to week, officials said. The routine violations made it difficult for workers to plan commitments for child care, education, and second jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis historic settlement marks a major victory for thousands of Starbucks baristas across New York City,\u201d said Workers United-SEIU international president Lynne Fox, whose union represents some of the workers in the settlement. \u201cFor 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.\u201d<\/p>\n DCWP began its probe after it received dozens of worker complaints beginning in 2022 from several Starbucks locations. The agency expanded its investigation to all Starbucks outposts citywide after uncovering evidence of systematic violations beyond the initial locations, based on worker reports and payroll data from the company, Mayuga told THE CITY.<\/p>\n The settlement comes as Starbucks workers across 85 cities nationwide including New York are in an ongoing strike, now in its third week<\/a>, to protest the company\u2019s alleged refusal to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with Starbucks Workers United. Wage and scheduling issues are among the sticking points for the union in New York and nationally.<\/p>\n Workers who are covered under the terms of the settlement will automatically receive their restitution in the mail beginning this winter, Wagoner told THE CITY, and will not need to apply. Most employees who worked for Starbucks in an hourly position in New York City will receive $50 for each week worked between July 2021 and July 2024, a sum potentially totaling thousands of dollars.\u00a0<\/p>\n