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- A group of bikini baristas won a $500,000 payout from a Washington city after it imposed a dress code.
- Everett banned workers from showing midriffs and buttocks and required they wear shorts and tank tops.
- The baristas said this violated their rights to free expression and intentionally targeted women.
A group of bikini baristas have won a $500,000 payout from a city in Washington State after it imposed a dress code on workers at coffee stands.
In 2017, seven bikini baristas and the owner of some drive-thru coffee stands filed a lawsuit against the City of Everett after it passed dress code ordinances that banned workers at quick service facilities from wearing bikinis.
The ordinances required staff to cover their shoulders, midriffs, and buttocks and wear at least shorts and tank tops.
The workers said in the lawsuit, filed shortly after the ordinances came into effect in September 2017, that the dress code policies violated their constitutional rights to free expression and intentionally targeted women.
The workers said that by wearing bikinis at work they were able to "express messages of freedom, openness, acceptance, empowerment, and individuality." The lawsuit also noted that the workers relied on the stands to make a living and that they were able to have flexible schedules to accommodate school and childcare.
In documentation explaining the rationale for the ordinances, the council argued that bikini barista stands had led to increases in crime, public sexual conduct, the opportunity for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and even the "corruption of minors." The stands had also adversely affected the "aesthetics and property values" of surrounding neighborhoods and businesses, according to the council.
Ramsay Rammerman, the assistant city attorney, said at a city council meeting on April 5 that the introduction of the ordinances in 2017 followed investigations into crime related to some of the city's coffee stands. He said that investigations found that some stands sold "sex shows," let customers touch the baristas, and pressured staff to work for them, including one 16-year-old minor. Some men also masturbated near the stands, Rammerman said.
A number of baristas, some stand owners, and even a sheriff's sergeant were arrested. These incidents weren't related to the baristas who filed the lawsuit, Rammerman said.
Jovanna Edge, the part-owner of Hillbilly Hotties, said in the lawsuit that her drive-thru coffee stands had cameras to ensure staff were safe, banned customers and staff from touching – including shaking hands – and required customers to stay in their vehicles at all times.
"Baristas are free to choose their clothing and they can wear as much or as little as they want, provided they follow the law," she said.
At the April 5 meeting, council members voted unanimously to authorize mayor Cassie Franklin to pay a $500,000 settlement to the baristas and amend the dress code ordinances for coffee stand workers to align it with the city's existing lewd conduct policies.
Are you a bikini barista with a story to share? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com