King County Superior Court Judge Cindi Port found that Alan Tagle and his company violated Washington employment laws, including by failing to pay minimum wage for all hours worked, according to findings of fact and conclusions of law signed Aug. 28.
The damages total about $1.85 million, according to calculations by the groups representing the employees, the Fair Work Center and Schroeter Goldmark & Bender. The groups said the figure includes damages for wage claims, which the judge ordered doubled, along with damages for other claims and prejudgment interest.
Liz Diamond, a spokesperson for Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, said Tagle operated five bikini barista stands in the Puget Sound area, most under the name “Beehive Espresso.”
Public records indicate Tagle has owned at least two companies with registered addresses associated with espresso stands in Bothell and Edmonds.
The ruling followed a 17-day trial between March and May, during which the court heard testimony from 18 current and former employees, Tagle and two expert witnesses.
The lawsuit alleged Tagle failed to issue paychecks or paystubs for several years and failed to adequately track employees’ hours and payroll. Diamond said Tagle instead “instructed them to take their wages and tips from the till.”
“Because baristas work most shifts alone, we do not always know whether what is happening to us is happening to coworkers,” said Eilish Hoffman, a former Beehive Espresso employee, named plaintiff and class representative.
“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,” Hoffman continued, adding that social media ultimately provided a way for employees to communicate with one another.
Niki Seligman, a spokesperson for the Fair Work Center, said the “confusing pay practices” made it “difficult for individual baristas to challenge what was happening.”
KING 5 was not able to reach Tagle through phone numbers associated with him or his businesses.
In a shocking twist, company that has sexual objectification of people’s bodies as business model acts unethically in other ways, too.
“Exploitative Industry Exploits People. More at 11. Here’s Tom with the weather”
I’m glad these women fought for their rights and won. They still deserve the wages they earned. This is one of the reasons why sex work should be legalized and regulated.
That part is definitely great! I wonder if it’s really necessary to have espresso-Hooters, though - seems much easier to eradicate by banning than “classic” prostitution.
Why ban them instead of making sure the workers aren’t exploited?
That seems really difficult to make sure of, and it doesn’t really seem worth the effort compared to other things that the regulation manpower could be used on.
You think it’s better to criminalize what these women are doing and jail them instead? Because it’s not worth the effort of making sure they aren’t exploited by their employers?
Just checking to make sure I understand your comments correctly.
Why would that land anyone in jail? No one is going to run an illicit coffee shop.
If Seattle is like most places, they only have so many public employees for regulating businesses, and there are many types of usually under-regulated businesses that are actually essential.
