Attempting to provide clarity to a subject that is a regular source of litigation, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has issued an extended, detailed analysis addressing the circumstances under which an employee’s position is “customarily and regularly” tipped for purposes of participating in a valid tip pool under 29 U.S.C. § 203(m).
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New York Court of Appeals Issues Starbucks Tip Ruling
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in New York State, Tips and Tipped Employees
In a significant victory for New York employers, the New York Court of Appeals has now held that Starbucks’ tip splitting practices did not violate New York law. In answering the certified questions in In Re Starbucks, the Court held “an employee whose personal service to patrons is a principal or regular part of…
New York High Court To Hear Oral Argument In Closely Watched Starbucks Appeal
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in New York State, Tips and Tipped Employees
On May 28, 2013, New York’s highest state court, the New York Court of Appeals, will hear oral argument regarding the scope and application of New York Labor Law 196-d and its tip splitting provisions to Starbucks’ tip pooling practices. The court’s analysis of these issues, which came to the court as certified questions from…
Second Circuit Asks New York Highest Court for Clarity As To Who May Participate In a Tip Pool
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in New York State, Tips and Tipped Employees
Under New York law, a customarily tipped employee cannot be forced to share tips with an employer or its “agent”. In 2009, a New York federal judge ruled that Starbucks did not violate the New York Labor law (specifically Section 196-d) by permitting shift supervisors at New York Starbucks to receive tips from the coffee…