Business
Starbucks staff are suing the coffee shop over its ‘tone deaf’ new dress code
Starbucks is facing legal challenges in three US states after workers initiated action over a new dress code. Employees claim the coffee giant broke the law by not reimbursing them for new clothing required by the updated policy.
Backed by the union organising Starbucks staff, workers have filed class-action lawsuits in state courts in Illinois and Colorado. Additionally, complaints have been lodged with California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Should the agency opt not to pursue penalties against Starbucks, the employees intend to launch a class-action lawsuit in California, according to the filings.
The new dress code, implemented on 12 May, mandates that all North American staff wear a plain black shirt, either short or long-sleeved, beneath their signature green aprons. These shirts must cover the midriff and armpits, with collars being optional. Starbucks did provide each employee with two complimentary T-shirts that meet the new specifications.
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. Socks and hosiery must be “subdued,” the company said.
The dress code prohibits employees from having face tattoos or more than one facial piercing. Tongue piercings and “theatrical makeup” are also prohibited.
Starbucks said in April that the new dress code would make employees’ green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers. It comes as the company is trying to reestablish a warmer, more welcoming experience in its stores.
Before the new dress code went into effect, Starbucks had a relatively lax policy. In 2016, it began allowing employees to wear patterned shirts in a wider variety of colors to give them more opportunities for self-expression.
The old dress code was also loosely enforced, according to the Colorado lawsuit. But under the new dress code, employees who don’t comply aren’t allowed to start their shifts.
Brooke Allen, a full-time student who also works at a Starbucks in Davis, California, said she was told by a manager in July that the Crocs she was wearing didn’t meet the new standards and she would have to wear different shoes if she wanted to work the following day. Allen had to go to three stores to find a compliant pair that cost her $60.09.
Allen has spent an additional $86.95 on clothes for work, including black shirts and jeans.
“I think it’s extremely tone deaf on the company’s part to expect their employees to completely redesign their wardrobe without any compensation,” Allen said. “A lot of us are already living paycheck to paycheck.”
Allen said she misses the old dress code, which allowed her to express herself with colorful shirts and three facial piercings.
“It looks sad now that everyone is wearing black,” she said.
The lawsuits and complaints filed Wednesday allege that Starbucks’ dress code violates state laws that require companies to reimburse workers for expenses that primarily benefit the employer. Colorado law also prohibits employers from imposing expenses on workers without their written consent, according to that lawsuit. The plaintiffs seek damages on behalf of all Starbucks workers in those states, whether or not their stores are unionized.
Multiple plaintiffs, like Allen, said they requested reimbursement from Starbucks to conform to the dress code but were denied. Gilbert Cruz, an employee in Aurora, Illinois, requested $10 for the cost of removing a nose piercing.
Worker-led lawsuits in state courts are a shift in tactics in the multi-year effort to unionize Starbucks’ stores.
Starbucks Workers United, the labor group that has unionized 640 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, has filed hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board. The union filed an charge over the dress code in April.
But the board’s ability to hear cases has been curtailed under President Donald Trump. Trump fired an NLRB member in the spring, leaving the board without the quorum it needs to decide cases.
Business
Logistics IPO: Yatayat Corporation files Sebi papers to raise funds; growth surge puts road freight firm in focus – The Times of India
Logistics and transportation services provider Yatayat Corporation India Ltd has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering, as the road freight segment continues to see strong demand, PTI reported.According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), the proposed IPO will comprise a fresh issue of up to 77 lakh equity shares along with an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 56 lakh equity shares by a promoter, taking the total offer size to as many as 1.33 crore shares.The company said proceeds from the fresh issue will be used primarily to meet working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes.Yatayat Corporation operates in the road logistics space, with a focus on Full Truck Load (FTL) transportation, offering point-to-point freight movement across major logistics corridors in the country. Its operations are supported by a network of 34 branches and one warehouse spread across 12 states.The company services a diversified client base spanning agriculture and agri-inputs, building materials and construction, chemicals and allied industries, energy and power, engineering and industrial manufacturing, IT and technology solutions, metals and mining, textiles and apparel, as well as other industrial and consumer segments.On the financial front, Yatayat Corporation reported revenue from operations of Rs 448.13 crore in FY25, up from Rs 348.34 crore in FY24. Profit after tax rose to Rs 30 crore in FY25, compared with Rs 15 crore in the previous financial year.Unistone Capital has been appointed as the sole book-running lead manager to the issue, the draft papers showed.
WH Smith is to claw back around £1.5 million in overpaid bonuses from former bosses following an accounting blunder at the retail firm’s US arm.
The travel retail specialist confirmed last week it is being investigated by the UK’s financial watchdog after it overstated profits for its North American business by as much as £50 million due to issues with its audit process.
Carl Cowling resigned as WH Smith’s chief executive last month after a report by Deloitte confirmed the accounting problems.
The company said on Wednesday in its annual report that annual bonus payments for Mr Cowling and former finance chief Robert Moorhead have been recalculated for 2023 and 2024.
It has also recalculated the payment of long-term share bonuses from a 2021 scheme for executives.
WH Smith said it overpaid Mr Cowling £516,000 in cash and 60,182 deferred shares worth £374,933 based on the latest closing price for the firm.
It overpaid Mr Moorhead by £372,000 in cash and £272,493 worth of shares.
It said it would now seek to “claw back” both of these payments from the former bosses.
WH Smith also confirmed that it did not pay annual or long-term bonuses to Mr Cowling for the past financial year.
As a result, his total pay deal tumbled to £724,000 for the year to August 2025, from £2.71 million for the same period a year earlier.
The retailer told investors last week that it had kickstarted a remediation plan, which aims to strengthen its governance and controls, ensure processes are aligned across the group, and enact cultural change involving training and monitoring.
Its board is currently searching for a permanent group chief executive.
WH Smith is now focused solely on its 1,300 shops in global travel locations, including at airports and train stations, after selling its high street chain of about 480 shops to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital in June.
As part of the deal, the WH Smith name is disappearing from British high streets and being replaced by brand TGJones.
The slimmed-down business reported a pre-tax profit of £108 million for the year to the end of August, excluding what it deems one-off costs.
RBI Guidelines For Cheque Clearing Time: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Wednesday that it has delayed the rollout of Phase 2 of the faster cheque clearance system by banks. The new phase was earlier set to begin on January 3, 2026. The RBI also announced changes to cheque processing timings. Cheques can now be presented between 9 am and 3 pm, while banks will have time from 9 am to 7 pm to confirm or reject them.
“Implementation of phase 2 is being postponed until further notice, to allow more time to banks to streamline their processes,” according to the RBI statement. Phase 1 of the system, which was implemented earlier this year, will continue to operate as usual.
RBI Phase 2 Guidelines
Under the proposed Phase 2 guidelines, banks are required to clear or reject any cheque deposited over the counter within just three hours. This is expected to be a major relief for customers, making payments faster and more efficient once the process starts.
RBI Rolls Out Cheque Truncation System
The RBI introduced continuous clearance under the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to speed up and simplify cheque clearing. Instead of the old batch system, cheques are now processed using digital images and electronic data. This means banks no longer need to physically transfer cheques, making the process faster and more efficient.
RBI Phase 1 Single Presentation Window
From October 4, 2025, Phase 1 brought in a single, continuous cheque presentation window during the day. Instead of waiting for fixed clearing batches, banks now scan cheques as they receive them and send the cheque images along with MICR data to the clearing house.
Once the drawee bank gets the cheque image, it checks the details and sends an approval or rejection electronically. If the bank does not respond by the end of the confirmation window, the cheque is automatically treated as approved and settled.
RBI Phase 2 Plan For Cheque Clearance
Phase 2, which was planned to start from January 3, 2026, was meant to further expedite the clearance of cheques to ensure greater convenience for bank customers. Banks would get just three hours to approve or reject a cheque after receiving its image.
If a bank failed to respond within this time, the cheque would be automatically approved and settled. This would have pushed banks to process cheques more quickly and helped customers get their money sooner. However, since phase 2 has been deferred, cheque clearing will continue under the present Phase 1 system, which does not have to follow the three-hour deadline. (With IANS Inputs)
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