NEW YORK, NY — December 3, 2025 — As Starbucks baristas in New York City escalate their “Red Cup Rebellion” labor actions, the coffee giant has agreed to pay nearly $38.9 million to settle sweeping allegations that it repeatedly violated the city’s Fair Workweek Law.
Prominent employment attorney Steven Mitchell Sack, known as “The Employee’s LawyerⓇ,” says the settlement is “a watershed moment” for fast-food workers nationwide.
The agreement, announced December 1 by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), Mayor Eric Adams, and DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, resolves claims that Starbucks committed more than 500,000 scheduling violations since 2021. Regulators say the company “arbitrarily cut schedules,” restricted opportunities for extra hours, and “illegally prioritized profits over workers’ rights.”
Under the Fair Workweek Law, fast-food workers must receive regular schedules 14 days in advance, premium pay for last-minute changes, the right to decline additional hours, and first access to newly available shifts before new hires are brought in.
Of the nearly $39 million settlement, $35.5 million will be paid directly to more than 15,000 affected employees who worked at Starbucks between July 2021 and July 2024. The remainder will go toward penalties and enforcement costs.
“This settlement is a huge win for workers,” Sack said. “The scope of these violations — more than half a million — is staggering. Starbucks must not only compensate every employee harmed but demonstrate it is fully committed to fair scheduling going forward.”
The settlement comes as labor tensions at Starbucks continue to draw national attention, with New York City serving as a key battleground for organizing efforts.
For more information, call (917) 371-8000 or visit www.theemployeeslawyer.com.
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About Steven Mitchell Sack
Steven Mitchell Sack, “The Employee’s Lawyer®,” has been enforcing the workplace rights of employees, executives, and sales representatives for more than 45 years. He is a practicing labor and employment attorney, author of 20 books, a lecturer, syndicated radio talk show host, and host of the podcast “Know Your Job Rights with Attorney Steven Sack.” With attorney Scott A. Lucas, he obtained a $6.2 million jury verdict in 2015 on behalf of three pregnant employees and a favorable New York Court of Appeals decision for a group of waiters who were denied their fair share of tips that a caterer withheld. For more information, visit www.theemployeeslawyer.com.
