SEATTLE—Washington State Attorney General’s Office has filed a suit against Jonathan Tagle, the owner of four “bikini barista” coffee stands in King and Snohomish counties. He is accused of subjecting female employees to years of quid pro quo sexual harassment, retaliation against those who resisted, and systemic wage theft, including failure to pay minimum wages, tips, and required sick leave. The complaint was filed on September 16, 2025, in King County Superior Court.
“Our team investigation found that the employer broke the law in multiple ways and created a workplace that left his employees stressed and traumatized,” Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. “Protecting worker rights is one of my top priorities as Attorney General. That includes making sure no one trying to earn a living is treated in such a demeaning and exploitative way as the women were in this case.”
Tagle, the sole owner, operator, governor, and corporate officer of Tagle Investments LLC, doing business as Paradise Espresso, oversees the chain’s daily operations, including hiring, scheduling, compensation, and firing at locations in Tukwila, Monroe, Lynnwood, and Mountlake Terrace.
Registered as a Washington corporation with eight or more employees, the business employs young women as baristas who prepare and sell coffee drinks to a largely male clientele while wearing racy bikinis, lingerie, or similar revealing attire. Tagle, described in the lawsuit as the sole manager responsible for all aspects of his business, is alleged to have exploited his authority over these women for at least 12 years, from 2012 through at least November 2024.
The core allegations center on egregious sexual harassment that created a hostile work environment, violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD).
According to the complaint, Tagle required female applicants to get naked during job interviews and demanded they jump or bend over in front of him while undressed. He allegedly touched employees without permission, including kissing, hugging, groping their breasts and buttocks, and pressing his erect penis against them.
Tagle is accused of making sexually charged comments about his own anatomy and the women’s bodies, sizes, clothing, buttocks, and breasts; requesting dates and sexual acts in exchange for job security, better shifts, or preferred locations; and directing employees to perform nude, sexually provocative “shows” for him and customers while on duty.
Further, the suit claims Tagle invited applicants and employees to his house under pretexts like job interviews or picking up wages, only to demand sexual favors upon arrival.
He allegedly recorded women undressing and changing into work outfits, then shared the videos with other staff while commenting on their bodies. Employees who experienced this misconduct reported feeling “uncomfortable, stressed, afraid, or traumatized,” with the actions described as unwelcome and harmful, causing pecuniary and nonpecuniary injuries deemed willful and malicious under state law.
The complaint states that when women rejected Tagle’s advances or opposed his conduct, he assigned them fewer hours, less favorable shifts or locations, terminated them, removed them from the company’s Instagram page that funneled customers to specific baristas, surveilled them, and issued threats. These measures, the suit argues, would dissuade a reasonable person from complaining, violating WLAD’s anti-retaliation provisions.
In severe instances, the combined harassment and retaliation rendered working conditions intolerable, leading to “constructive discharge” where multiple female employees felt compelled to quit, another WLAD violation tied to sex discrimination.
The lawsuit further accuses Tagle and his company of wage and hour abuses under the Minimum Wage Act (MWA) and Wage Rebate Act (WRA).
Employees were not guaranteed minimum hours, with schedules set at Tagle’s discretion, resulting in unpredictable earnings.
Workers went unpaid for onboarding training, cleaning, restocking, opening, and closing shifts. Payments were irregular—often delayed weeks or months, below the state minimum hourly wage—and lacked a fixed schedule, violating requirements for paydays at no longer than monthly intervals.
Tagle allegedly enforced sales quotas, forcing employees to forfeit tips to cover shortfalls, and failed to disburse credit card tips when cash registers ran low. Additionally, Paradise Espresso denied paid sick leave accrual and use, and neglected to notify staff of their rights to it, the accrual rate, authorized purposes, or protections against retaliation for taking it.
The nine-count complaint seeks declaratory judgments affirming the violations, permanent injunctions barring future sex discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage underpayment, and specific relief to restrain Tagle from further abusing female applicants and employees.
The AG’s Office demands back pay for unpaid hours, full tip restitution, instatement of accrued sick leave for current staff, double exemplary damages for willful withholding, monetary relief for aggrieved individuals, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, and recovery of the state’s suit costs and attorneys’ fees. The state also requests “additional relief as the interests of justice may require.”
The AG’s Office is actively seeking more information, urging anyone who worked at Paradise Espresso since 2012 to contact the Civil Rights Division at ParadiseEspressoLawsuit@atg.wa.gov or 1-833-660-4877 (select Option 9).
Author: Mario Lotmore
