Amador County – A former employee of Starbucks in Martell will receive $5000 in settlement funds on behalf of other employees as part of a class-action lawsuit over mileage reimbursement. Calaveras County resident Jonelle Lewis, 60, who is acting as representative plaintiff on behalf of a class, worked in three retail management positions and used her personal vehicle extensively to perform work-related duties. But the multi-million dollar corporation’s policy dictates that “as a matter of company policy, Starbucks does not reimburse employees for mileage expenses.” This is seemingly a double-standard, since executives and upper management are reimbursed for like expenses. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. approved the settlement Friday, stating that managers “regularly drive their own vehicles to perform work-related tasks, such as making bank deposits, getting supplies and attending meetings.” The net settlement proceeds will be used to pay an average of $86 to approximately 6,000 people who joined the class action suit and filled the three types of retail manager positions in California stores between March 12, 2003, and March 19, 2008. Starbucks Corporation’s net revenues increased 3 percent to $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with $2.4 billion for the fourth quarter 2007. Story by Alex Lane