Court Rules Tip-Sharing at Starbucks Violates Massachusetts Law

A federal court in Massachusetts has certified a class of Starbucks’ employees
alleging that the company’s policy of requiring tip-sharing by baristas and
their supervisors violates state law; the court also granted the plaintiffs’
motion for summary judgment on that issue. Matamoros v. Starbucks Corp.,
No. 08-10772 (D. Mass., decided March 18, 2011). So ruling, the
court rejected the defendant’s argument that “intractable intra-class conflict”
precludes certification. According to the court, “an interest by certain putative
class members in maintaining the allegedly unlawful policy is not a reason
to deny class certification. Indeed, were the Court to hold otherwise, an
employer could readily insulate itself from class liability simply by establishing
a communal ‘tip pool’ for both managerial and non-managerial employees.
Such an ‘end run’ clearly contravenes the purpose of the Tips law.”