On 24 April 2025, eight Brazilian workers filed a civil lawsuit against Starbucks before a federal court in Washington D.C., United States, with the support of International Rights Advocates (IRA), alleging they were subjected to trafficking and forced labour by a supplier of the company. The class-action lawsuit, filed before a federal court, claims the workers in the supplier's coffee farms are forced to work under conditions that "U.S. law defines as modern slavery".

In parallel, advocacy group Coffee Watch petitioned the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to block Brazilian coffee imports from Starbucks and other major companies, including Nestlé, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Dunkin’, Illy and McDonald’s.

On 17 February 2026, a federal district court in Washington D.C. dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over Starbucks for the workers' claims.

On 18 June 2026, the workers filed a new lawsuit in Washington state federal court. The case is ongoing.