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Los Angeles News

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Starbucks To Baristas: No More Bucks From Us

SEATTLE (AP) ― Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz says the coffee chain will not pay its California baristas back for tips they shared with shift supervisors in defiance of a San Diego Superior Court ruling last week.

Schultz calls the ruling "unfair" in a voicemail message sent to employees earlier this week.

The company has released a separate statement saying there is no money to be "refunded or returned from Starbucks."

The California lawsuit was filed in 2004, and was granted class-action status in 2006.

Last week, a San Diego Superior Court judge ordered Starbucks to pay baristas more than $100 million in back tips and interest, saying state law prohibits managers and supervisors from taking a cut from the tip jar.

A hearing to decide how to distribute the tip money is set for May 1st.

Starbucks has said that "shift supervisors are not managers and have no managerial authority."

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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