{"id":58647,"date":"2025-12-02T17:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/58647\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T17:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:44:08","slug":"starbucks-new-york-city-reach-record-breaking-39-million-worker-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/58647\/","title":{"rendered":"Starbucks, New York City reach record-breaking $39 million worker settlement"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can find original article here Nrn<\/a>. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Starbucks and New York City have reached a $38.9 million settlement after a years-long investigation into the company\u2019s violations of the city\u2019s Fair Workweek laws, which are designed to protect fast-food workers, Mayor Adams\u2019 office announced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In conclusion of the investigation, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) found that Starbucks \u201ccommitted more than half a million violations of the law since 2021,\u201d including the right to \u201cstable and predictable schedules\u201d across more than 300 locations citywide. Mayor Adams\u2019 office also announced that this is the largest worker protection settlement in city history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not matter how big your business is or how much money your company makes, if you violate our workers\u2019 rights, you will pay the price,\u201d Adams said in a statement. \u201cWith this landmark settlement, we\u2019ll put tens of millions of dollars back into the pockets of hard-working New Yorkers and reinforce every New Yorker\u2019s right to a reliable schedule, full hours, and basic dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigation was launched in 2022 after the DCWP received dozens of complaints from Starbucks employees, and over the course of three years, the investigation found that Starbucks employees in New York City \u201cnever receive regular schedules,\u201d and that Starbucks \u201croutinely and unlawfully reduced employees\u2019 hours by more than 15 percent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under the agreed settlement, Starbucks is required to pay more than $35.5 million in restitution to the 15,000 workers affected by these violations, as well as any other workers who might come forward.\u00a0Most employees who worked for Starbucks in an hourly position in New York City will receive $50 for each week worked from July 2021 through July 2024, for a maximum restitution payment of almost $8,000. Additionally, Starbucks must pay $3.4 million in civil penalties and costs to New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In response, Starbucks has argued that the Fair Workweek Law has \u201ccomplex rules\u201d and although the company, \u201csupports the intent of the law and remains committed to compliance,\u201d even minor scheduling changes like swapping shifts to cover a doctor\u2019s appointment can \u201ccreate a domino effect\u201d of violations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Starbucks, we take these requirements seriously and despite our best efforts and well-intentioned coffeehouse partners, the DCWP raised instances of violations between July 2021 and June 2024,\u201d Starbucks said in a statement. \u201cWhile the NYC laws remain unchanged and complex, our focus hasn\u2019t shifted \u2013 we\u2019re committed to creating the best job in retail and to ensuring our practices follow all laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starbucks is also not the only major restaurant chain to be hit with violations of New York\u2019s Fair Workweek Law. In 2021, Chipotle was sued<\/a> for nearly $500 million failing to follow shift scheduling guidelines, as well as not following sick leave requirements, and in 2022, the company settled for $20 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s Starbucks settlement was announced amid ongoing labor tensions between the company and Workers United. By Black Friday, Starbucks Workers United\u2019s Red Cup Day union strike<\/a> had escalated to 120 stores across 85 cities nationally. Additionally, on Monday, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani joined the picket line at a Starbucks strike in Brooklyn, alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are workers who are simply being asked to be treated with the respect that they deserve,\u201d Mamdani said in a statement. \u201cThey’re being asked that their labor be repaid in a manner that allows them to build a dignified life. And I join them because I want to do everything that I can to show my solidarity, but also because I know that far too often the voices of everyday\u00a0working people are not amplified with the volume that management so easily receives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Joanna at\u00a0joanna.fantozzi@informa.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletters. Starbucks and New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[31636,9,24,55,54,56,14094],"class_list":{"0":"post-58647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-fair-workweek","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-city-news","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-starbucks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}