Starbucks, citing tax law, boosts worker pay and benefits

Starbucks is giving its U.S. workers pay raises and stock grants this year, citing recent changes to the tax law.

All employees will soon be able to earn paid sick time off, and the company’s parental leave benefits will include all nonbirth parents. Starbucks Corp. said Wednesday that the changes affect about 150,000 full-time, parttime, hourly and salaried employees, most of whom work as baristas or shop managers. The new benefits apply to workers at more than 8,200 companyowned stores but not at the 5,700 licensed shops like those found inside supermarkets.

Starbucks is the latest company to say it’s boosting pay or benefits due to the passage of the Republican tax plan, which slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. Walmart, for example, raised its starting hourly salary from $9 to $11 earlier this month, and also expanded its parental leave benefits.

Beyond changes to the tax law, other factors are affecting retail working conditions. Larger employers are having a hard time attracting and keeping workers because of historically low unemployment rates. Job seekers can be pickier about where they work, and companies are trying to make themselves more attractive. Target announced in October that it would raise its starting hourly wage to $11, and said it would raise wages to $15 by the end of 2020.

Starbucks said workers will get a pay raise in April, their second increase this year. The job site Glassdoor says baristas make about $9.60 an hour.

Starbucks said the changes will cost the company more than $250 million.

Elaine Thompson, The Associated Press Baristas from Starbucks’ specialized coffee shop, Reserve Roastery, demonstrate a siphon brew of individual cups before the company’s shareholders meeting last year.