Workers take Starbucks to court over new dress code costs

Starbucks employees in Illinois, Colorado and California have filed legal action against the coffee chain, claiming it broke the law by introducing a new dress code without reimbursing staff for required clothing purchases.

Starbucks employees in Illinois, Colorado and California have filed class-action lawsuits and complaints over a new dress code introduced on 12 May 2025. The policy requires staff to wear solid black shirts under green aprons, khaki, black or blue denim bottoms, and approved footwear, while prohibiting face tattoos, multiple facial piercings, tongue piercings, and theatrical makeup.

Workers say the company only provided two free shirts, and other items needed to comply with the dress code were paid for out of their own pockets. The lawsuits cite state laws requiring employers to reimburse staff for expenses that primarily benefit the company and, in Colorado, to obtain written consent before imposing such costs. Plaintiffs are seeking damages for all employees affected, whether unionised or not.

The legal action coincides with ongoing union activity at Starbucks. Starbucks Workers United, which represents 640 of the company’s 10,000 U.S.-owned stores, has previously filed unfair labour practice charges, including one related to the dress code.

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