After Astoria Barista's Firing, NYC Sues Starbucks In Landmark Case

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The city is suing Starbucks after the company fired a longtime barista and union organizer at an Astoria shop, the first such case it has filed under the auspices of a major worker-protection law enacted in 2021.

The complaint, filed Thursday by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, centers on Austin Locke: a former employee of the Starbucks on 31st Street and Ditmars Boulevard.

Locke, a five-year employee who had helped organize the store's successful union drive, was fired on July 5 after Starbucks claimed he had violated COVID-19 protocols and made a false claim about workplace violence.

But Locke has alleged from the start that he was fired in retaliation for his union organizing, much like other Starbucks employees who say they faced termination after taking part in the nationwide unionization trend.

"Starbucks continues to wrongfully fire pro-union workers nationwide in retaliation for union organizing," Locke said in a statement.

The city says Locke's firing violates its Fair Workweek Law, passed in 2020, which prevents fast-food and chain companies from firing employees without "just cause" or cutting their hours without a bona fide economic reason.

Locke had taken sick leave starting June 6 after feeling ill, then returned to work two days later after testing negative for COVID-19, according to the city's complaint.

When he arrived, he complied with Starbucks's COVID-19 policies by taking his temperature and signing a log-book stating that he had no symptoms — but Locke was unable to find an electronic tablet where he was supposed to fill out a COVID questionnaire, the city says.

After starting his shift, Locke went into a back room to get cleaning solution, where a store supervisor told him to stop, put his hand on Locke's chest to prevent him from entering, and took the cleaning solution bucket from Locke, the city says.

Locke then filed an incident report to Starbucks about the "unwanted physical contact" and was sent home for the day, according to the suit.

Two days later, near the end of his shift on June 10, Locke's store manager and a Starbucks district manager pulled him aside and asked why he had failed to complete the COVID-19 questionnaire on June 8 — adding that surveillance footage showed that the supervisor never made physical contact with him, the suit says.

Locke explained that he couldn't find a working tablet, and asked to see the footage, which the company never showed him. The city, which obtained the footage as part of its investigation, now says the video does not Bolster Starbucks's claim that Locke lied about the interaction, since the contact took place outside the frame of the surveillance camera.

Locke was given a notice of termination on July 5 — just five days after the store's employees voted 7-4 to approve a union.

After getting a complaint days later, the city began its investigation and asked Starbucks to turn over materials including the surveillance video, the disciplinary policy that Locke supposedly violated, and Locke's personnel file.

But Starbucks failed to provide much of that information, and the materials it did share did not change the city's finding that Locke had been illegally fired, the city says.

The complaint, filed with the city's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, seeks to reinstate Locke to his position at the Ditmars Boulevard Starbucks — plus force the company to give Locke $300 for each scheduled shift that he lost, and pay civil penalties as required by the Fair Workweek Law.

Reached for comment, a Starbucks spokesperson said that the company would not comment on pending litigation, but added, "We do intend to defend against the alleged violations of the city’s just cause law."

"Protecting workers’ rights to organize and unionize is critical, and employers who try to undermine and violate those rights must be held accountable," Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement. “Starbucks’ actions were not just wrong, but illegal, and I applaud the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for conducting this investigation and taking legal action."

Since the Fair Workweek Law was enacted, the agency handling the policy has received more than 440 complaints, completed more than 220 investigations and obtained more than $24 million in fines and restitution for over 17,000 workers, according to the city.

Related coverage:

• 2nd Astoria Starbucks Votes To Unionize As Wave Continues
• Workers At Second Astoria Starbucks Seek To Unionize