# Starbucks workers sue in three states over uncompensated change to dress code **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164 "2025-09-18T18:52:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/21 "2025-09-20T02:14:56Z")
Huh. My ex bought me skechers at Kohls 4 years ago for 55. Someone bought me tennies at Walmart for 20. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/22 "2025-09-20T02:42:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > They are perfect for restaurant work and nurses. Both kinds of places hate them for no reason I can figure out. Normal Crocs are not safe for kitchen work. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/23 "2025-09-20T02:44:11Z")
They have crocs for these places. Kinda like they designed them for that very purpose . 😊 ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/24 "2025-09-20T02:59:27Z")
I’m rooting for the workers even though I have _never_ received a clothing allowance from a job. Not from the supermarket, not from the video store, not from the gas station. They give you uniform shirts and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/25 "2025-09-20T03:05:20Z")
Right. Restaurants don’t hate the Professional ones. They do should and do hate the normal ones. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/26 "2025-09-20T03:12:38Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I’m rooting for the workers even though I have _never_ received a clothing allowance from a job. Not from the supermarket, not from the video store, not from the gas station. Ditto. I _still_ resent Burger King, 52 years later, for making me buy old lady black slacks which I gave to my mom two weeks later after quitting over French fryer splatter burns. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/27 "2025-09-20T03:26:16Z")
McDonalds gave me a uniform in the old days. I had to give it back when I left. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/28 "2025-09-20T05:46:55Z")
> [@susan](#): > > McDonalds gave me a uniform in the old days. I had to give it back when I left Same with the Burger King uniform shirt I had to wear, but the generic old lady pants were on me. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/29 "2025-09-20T06:07:06Z")
Oh my lord..what did they possibly do with worn, greasy old uniform tops from fast food workers? Furthermore…when I was a small child I noticed the difference in BK and MickeyDs workers uniforms. Were they in a contest to make the ugliest uniforms or something? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/30 "2025-09-20T09:50:18Z")
Two question on shoes: - „black, gray, dark blue, brown, tan or white shoes made from a waterproof material“ - doesn‘t that describe the sort of shoes that everyone wears in first-world countries in the temperate climate zones? - Do customers even notice what shoes staff in a restaurant wears, particularly behind the counter? I for one do not notice shoes on people, except that I notice the pronounced gaits associated with high heels, flip flops and going barefoot - these three gaits stick out to me and then I glance at their feet. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/31 "2025-09-20T13:44:46Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > „black, gray, dark blue, brown, tan or white shoes made from a waterproof material“ - doesn‘t that describe the sort of shoes that everyone wears in first-world countries in the temperate climate zones? No, i almost never wear that kind of shoe. I mostly wear sneakers, at the advise of my podiatrist. They aren’t waterproof, and the color isn’t uniform. I think a large fraction of young adults wear sneakers daily. (And does leather count as waterproof? Because if not, almost no one wears shoes like that.) ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/32 "2025-09-20T13:54:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > No, i almost never wear that kind of shoe. But you probably own a pair right? Here is what the article says the code is: _“Employees must wear khaki, black or blue denim bottoms without patterns or frayed hems or solid black dresses that are not more than 4 inches above the knee. The dress code also requires workers to wear black, gray, dark blue, brown, tan or white shoes made from a waterproof material.”_ So, blue jeans and a pair of dress shoes. I find it hard to believe that most of the workers don’t have these in their closets already. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/33 "2025-09-20T14:17:57Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > made from a waterproof material I honestly don’t know what shoe materials are waterproof, but I’m imagining something like rubber boots. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/34 "2025-09-20T14:44:37Z")
I don’t own any waterproof shoes right now either, nor any dress shoes. Most of my Starbucks peers back in the day had to buy special shoes to meet the requirements. We frequently discussed where to buy the cheapest ones (I forget now). It’s not the kind of thing you’d normally have unless you hiked in wet environments often or worked in food service. At the time, Starbucks may have strongly recommended (required? can’t remember) steel toe plates too. I remember that because it’s the first time I’d ever heard of such a thing, coming from a life of wearing cheap sneakers. I feel like out West, at least, dress codes are generally a lower and upper class thing, with a large “excluded middle” of mundane, salaried professional jobs in between that don’t care what you wear. Show up in shorts and a t shirt and nobody would say anything. Between that and fashion changes, why would a young adult who isn’t already working in food service be expected to have apparel like that? It’s a speciality professional uniform, not that different from what fast food workers or resort employees wear. So provide it for them… ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/35 "2025-09-20T14:47:34Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > So, blue jeans and a pair of dress shoes What dress shoes are waterproof? And standing 8+ hours a day every day in dress shoes, are you nuts? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/36 "2025-09-20T14:55:08Z")
No, i don’t own any waterproof shoes, except a pair of high rubber boots that i wear for shoveling snow. They would be hideously uncomfortable to wear all day indoors, and I’d be shocked if they met any indoor dress codes. Also, they are a muddy green color, so no, they wouldn’t be allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/37 "2025-09-20T14:57:36Z")
Lol yes. You can really tell who’s never been within a degree of the service industry. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/38 "2025-09-20T15:18:10Z")
I have no slip shoes for work. Usually I am to wear jeans but black slacks are acceptable. I once stood for 12 hours at work ( 3 food breaks of a half hour each). ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/39 "2025-09-20T15:33:28Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > What dress shoes are waterproof? And standing 8+ hours a day every day in dress shoes This. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164/40 "2025-09-20T15:47:08Z")
I do own: > [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > khaki, black or blue denim bottoms without patterns or frayed hems or solid black dresses that are not more than 4 inches above the knee. But also, I’m old and have decades of clothes in my closet. Even so, I had a lot of trouble finding clothes that met the dress code for prison volunteers, when I was tutoring in a nearly medium security prison. I also had trouble scraping together stuff that met the dress code for an Orthodox Jewish bar mitzvah I attended. (Despite the assurance from the woman who wrote the instructions that is was all easy.) Different people own wardrobes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-sue-in-three-states-over-uncompensated-change-to-dress-code/1023164.md?page=3)