Starbucks class action claims coffee chain failed to reimburse workers for new dress code

Starbucks dress code class action overview:

• Who: Starbucks employees have filed lawsuits against the coffee chain.
• Why: The workers allege they were not reimbursed for clothing and shoes required by a new dress code.
• Where: The class actions were filed in Illinois and Colorado, while an administrative claim was filed in California.

Starbucks employees in Colorado, Illinois and California have filed legal actions against the coffeehouse giant, claiming the company failed to reimburse them for clothing and shoes required by a new dress code.

The workers filed proposed class actions against Starbucks in Illinois and Colorado, and an administrative claim with California’s Labor & Workforce Development Agency.

The legal actions center on a new Starbucks dress code that went into effect in the spring, which the workers claim they comply with at their own cost.

“Starbucks — a multi-billion-dollar global corporation — has a systemic policy of forcing its low-paid hourly workers to pay out-of-pocket for apparel that the company requires them to wear to work,” workers in the Colorado lawsuit claim. “But Starbucks does not reimburse its employees for the special clothing that they must buy as a condition of employment. Starbucks’ policy thus shifts the cost of doing business onto the backs of its workers and violates Colorado law in the process.”

Starbucks dress code a heavy burden, class action lawsuit claims

Starbucks announced the new dress code in April, which, among other guidelines, requires employees to wear solid black tops or company-approved shirts; khaki, black or blue denim bottoms; shoes in black, grey, navy blue, brown, tan or white; and solid black, grey, navy, brown, tan or white socks.

The dress code went into effect in mid-May, the workers claim. They allege Starbucks violated California, Illinois and Colorado state laws by failing to reimburse them for costs incurred by complying with the new uniform requirements.

California-based Starbucks barista Brooke Allen claims she incurred nearly $150 in costs as a result of the coffee chain’s “new, far more stringent 2025 dress code.”

“For workers like me, already stretched thin by low hours and understaffing, these extra costs are a heavy burden,” Allen says.

Last year, Starbucks faced a class action lawsuit from a customer who claims she was served a hot coffee with a defective lid which “instantly” came off as the barista handed her the beverage. 

What do you think of the claims made in this Starbucks class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The California employees are represented by Connie K. Chan of Altshuler Berzon LLP.

The Colorado employees are represented by Joseph M. Goldhammer and Stanley M. Gosch of Rosenblatt Gosch & Reinken PLLC; David H. Seligman and Victoria Guzman of Towards Justice; and Elizabeth Grdina, Charlotte H. Schwartz and Sejal Singh of James & Hoffman PC.

The Illinois employees are represented by Robert E. Bloch and Josiah A. Groff of Dowd Bloch Bennett Cervone Auerbach & Yokich LLP.

The Colorado case is Shay Mannick, et al. v. Starbucks Corporation, Case No. 2025CV33336, in the 2nd Judicial District of Colorado.

The Illinois case is Violet Nijenhuis, et al. v. Starbucks Corporation, Case No. 2025CH09586, in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

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