In Winans v. Starbucks, 796 F. Supp. 2d 515 (SDNY July 11, 2011), the Southern District of New York dismissed a complaint alleging that Starbucks improperly retained gratuities that plaintiffs were entitled to receive. Plaintiffs, several Starbucks “assistant store managers”, sued their employer for violating New York Labor Law 196-d. The Court ruled in Starbucks’…
Read More Court Holds That Starbucks Complied With Tip-Sharing StatuteA New York law, known as the “Wage Theft Prevention Act” (and codified at Section 195 of the New York Labor Law) (“WTPA”), recently went into effect. The WTPA, among other things, strengthens the Labor Law’s anti-retaliation provision, specifies additional notice requirements, and significantly increases penalties for noncompliance (by, for example, increasing liquidated damages from…
Read More NY Enacts Employee-Friendly “Wage Theft Prevention Act”In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 131 S.Ct. 1325 (2011), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) anti-retaliation provision does not require the submission of a written complaint. That provision, codified at 29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3), makes it unlawful to, inter alia, “discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee…
Read More FLSA Anti-Retaliation Provision Covers Oral, as Well as Written, Complaints