Starbucks Baristas Lose Battle To Keep Tips

Across the country, waitstaff have cried foul over tip pools, claiming their employers are unfairly divvying out their hard-earned tips. A group of Starbucks baristas in New York tried to make that case, but on Wednesday, in a potential blow for many in New York's army of food service workers, the state's highest court sided with the coffee chain.

The baristas argued that their shift supervisors, as managers, should keep their fingers out of the tip jar. But the New York Court of Appeals disagreed, issuing guidelines that the work of shift supervisors was similar enough to the work of servers to qualify them for a share of the tips, even if they had some supervisory authority. The case has been knocked back to the Second Circuit for the final ruling.