NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is suing Starbucks over allegations that the coffee corporation unlawfully fired a Queens barista who had been involved in unionization efforts — marking the first time the city has taken legal action under its landmark “just cause” labor law, the Daily News has learned.
The barista, Austin Locke, worked at a recently-unionized Starbucks in Astoria from October 2016 until July 5, when he was terminated after having been out sick for a few days, states a complaint filed Thursday by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Starbucks claimed it axed Locke because he failed to complete a COVID-19 questionnaire upon returning to work, according to the complaint, which was submitted with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and exclusively obtained by The News. But Locke alleges he didn’t complete the questionnaire because he couldn’t find a tablet to do it on, and said he explained that to his supervisor, too.
