Labor Department Files Lawsuit on Behalf of “Bikini Baristas”

I’m a native Seattleite. Here in the other Washington, I’m constantly asked about two things: rain, and coffee. (Note: I’d rather talk about the departed Sonics, and/or how awesome ferries are. But I digress.) “Are there really coffee shops on every corner?” Yes. “Does it really rain almost every day?” Why do you think we drink so much coffee?

But if the chilly damp of the Northwest explains the local obsession with coffee, it does nothing to illuminate the coffee industry’s newest fad in the region: bikini-clad baristas.

That’s right. The classic drive-through espresso stand has been transformed into an adult-only (in most counties) food service station. Obviously, management is not concerned about clothing their employees in weather-appropriate attire.  Yet, in at least one chain of stands, management hasn’t been concerned with paying them correctly either.

According to the Department of Labor, two related companies, (both “Nevada-based” but headquartered in the Northwest), Baristas Coffee Co. and Baristas Coffee Co. Inc., regularly failed to pay their employees for hours worked, or when they did pay, wrote them checks that bounced or were unsigned.

After being alerted to possible violations by a local TV news station, the Wage and Hour Division of DOL Seattle’s office investigated and found that the companies were willfully violating wage and hour laws by failing to pay employees and deliberately keeping poor records.

In one instance, a barista worked for six weeks without receiving any money beyond customer tips. When they finally paid her, the check bounced. Another barista said not having the $350 dollars the company owed her cost her her car, car insurance and cell phone. “I was taken advantage of," she told local news. "I needed the money…”

Donna Hart, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Seattle District Office, explained what this case represents for other businesses who employ vulnerable workers: “Low-wage workers have a legal right under the FLSA to be paid the minimum wage and properly compensated for overtime. Employers should know that, when employees are deprived of their rightful wages, the Labor Department will not hesitate to use all enforcement tools at its disposal, including litigation when appropriate.”

The DOL lawsuit seeks backwages and damages for 45 affected baristas, but is also requesting over $42,000 in penalties for willful violations.

This is an important message. These employees may be women, they maybe young, and they may wear scanty amounts of clothing, but they are entitled to the wages they earn and the protection of the law.