King County Superior Court orders Alan Tagle to pay over $1.85 million in stolen wages and damages
Contact: Niki Seligman, nseligman@workingwarightscenter.org
Director of Communications, Working Washington – Working Washington Rights Center
Seattle, WA – Bikini baristas who worked at Beehive Espresso stands across Western Washington have won a long legal fight over stolen wages and other workplace violations. The workers were represented by Working Washington Rights Center, formerly known as Fair Work Center, and co-counsel at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender. The baristas will recover over $1.85 million in unpaid wages and damages, following a ruling by Judge Cindi Port in King County Superior Court.
The case was a class action lawsuit that grew out of workers in this often-stigmatized industry joining together to fight for what they were owed. The court found that Alan Tagle, the owner of Beehive Espresso, “accepted the benefit of baristas’ work without paying for it,” and awarded double damages for the amount of wages and tips that workers were made to rebate to Mr. Tagle to meet “sales goals”. This decision marks a major victory for workers who spent years fighting to recover wages and protections they should have received from the start.
“Because baristas work most shifts alone, we do not always know whether what is happening to us is happening to coworkers. As a result, breaking through that isolation and building trust was one of the first big barriers we had to overcome in order to join together for what we were rightfully owed. Tools like social media gave us a way to share our experiences. It felt risky in this economy because of the real threat of retaliation, but I did not want other baristas to feel as powerless and isolated as I had felt before I became determined to take action. Coming together with my coworkers to fight in court and win has shown me that there is power in unity, the bad guys don’t always win, and that there is hope out there for people working in any industry! If you see something wrong and find the gumption to stand up you CAN make a change for the greater good!”
—Eilish Hoffman, Named Plaintiff and class representative, Former worker at Beehive Espresso
According to workers, the owner created confusing pay practices and exercised a level of control that made it difficult for individual baristas to challenge what was happening. The baristas were expected to turn over tips and wages to meet the arbitrary sales goals or risk losing hours or being fired altogether. The baristas were required to mostly work alone, but when two were scheduled for the same shift, the employer would only pay one of the workers. The owner also illegally banned baristas from working at other bikini barista stands as a tactic to dissuade workers from challenging their mistreatment. In a text message to another employer, Mr. Tagle warned against allowing baristas to take shifts at other stands because it “prevents me from having the control I need over them…Normally girls are not shared because it empowers them, they won’t listen because they can just go to the other stand.”
Working Washington Rights Center partnered with attorneys at Schroeter Goldmark and Bender to bring a suit against Beehive Espresso seeking the wages workers were owed and statutory penalties. Despite delay tactics by the employer and barriers caused by abysmal record keeping, the workers were able to prevail in court. This case is a reminder that while Washington has strong workplace protections, they only matter if workers can actually enforce them and if the consequences for violations have teeth.
We’re proud to have put our legal expertise behind the workers’ fight to turn that collective courage into real accountability.
“Working Washington Rights Center congratulates baristas for boldly taking on wage theft in the bikini coffee industry—and winning! Alongside our partners at SGB, we’re proud to have put our legal muscle behind their collective demand for accountability. We hope this victory inspires other workers to fight together for what they deserve in the industry and beyond.”
—Janae Choquette, Staff Attorney, Working Washington Rights Center
“This ruling gives me a lot of hope for how people’s and society’s views on sex workers are changing. I think that we’re approaching a time when people realize that no matter what it is you do for work, you still deserve the bare minimum and more. I’m very proud to see that sex workers–all workers–are feeling more empowered to speak up against mistreatment in the workplace. And it gives me a lot of hope for the future of, not only the bikini barista industry, but sex work as a whole. I have a lot of confidence that the culture around shitty bosses, especially male bosses in this industry, is changing; we are not objects to be conquered, we are people to be respected.”
—Mykie, Former worker at Beehive Espresso
Click here to view the decision.
To arrange interviews with former Beehive workers or Working Washington Rights Center legal staff, contact Niki Seligman, Director of Communications for Working Washington – Working Washington Rights Center: nseligman@workingwarightscenter.org
About Working Washington Rights Center
Working Washington Rights Center, formerly Fair Work Center, is a 501(c)(3) organization focused on enforcing and raising labor standards across Washington.