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

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