A King County judge ordered Beehive Espresso owner Alan Tagle to pay more than $1.85 million to 70 bikini baristas for years of wage and tip theft.

Judge Cindi Port found that Tagle and his company Tagle & Partners violated Washington wage and hour laws in four ways: failure to pay minimum wage, tip theft, sick leave violations and restrictions on workers' ability to hold a second job.

Port awarded double damages, calling the violations intentional and willful, KOMO News reported.

The $1.85 million covers back pay, penalties and interest. Additional interest and attorney fees are still to come, according to a Sept. 3 statement from plaintiffs' counsel at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender.

Tagle operated five espresso stands in the Puget Sound area, most under the Beehive Espresso name.

For several years he issued no paychecks or pay stubs, failed to track hours and kept no payroll records, the court found. He told baristas to take their wages and tips from the cash register, then imposed sales goals on each shift. Baristas who fell short lost hours or were fired.

When two baristas worked the same shift, Tagle paid only one of them, workers alleged.

He also banned baristas from picking up shifts at competing stands. In a text message to another employer entered as evidence, Tagle wrote that sharing workers "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."

Former barista Eilish Hoffman filed the class action in 2024. She said organizing was difficult because most baristas worked shifts alone and did not know coworkers faced the same conditions. Social media helped workers connect and share their experiences, Hoffman said.

"My aim was to hold Mr. Tagle accountable and make sure bikini baristas get the same protections under the law as every other group of workers," Hoffman said in the plaintiffs' counsel statement.

The Seattle-based Working Washington Rights Center, formerly known as Fair Work Center, represented the class alongside attorneys Lindsay Halm and Andy Boes of Schroeter Goldmark & Bender and staff attorney Janae Choquette. Halm said the case "exposed a system built to enrich Mr. Tagle and exploit his workforce."

No response from Tagle or his legal counsel appeared in available public statements as of publication. The award is preliminary. No appeal deadline or payment schedule has been announced.