LITTLE ROCK Ark. A Starbucks branch in Russellville, Ark. allegedly violated federal anti-discrimination laws by refusing to hire as a barista a man with multiple sclerosis, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in district court here.
Aspokesperson for Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. said Wednesday that the company had not yet been served with the complaint and therefore had no comment or additional information. She added that workplace policies for the company, which operates or licenses to about 16,729 coffee bars worldwide, “provide for equal employment opportunities and strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of physical or mental disability.”
According to the EEOC lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Little Rock, Starbucks advertised six openings at its Russellville store and Chuck Hannay, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, or MS, applied but was not contacted for an interview. Hannay showed up at the store for an interview anyway, but was treated differently than the other candidates spoken to that day, the EEOC suit alleges.
The federal agency said that based on its investigation it believes Starbucks rejected Hannay for hire because of his MS, which is a violation of disability discrimination clauses in the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Starbucks “failed to hire Mr. Hannay to a barista position in spite of the fact that he was qualified for the job,” Katharine W. Kores, district director of the EEOC’s Memphis office, said in a written statement. That office has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee, and portions of Mississippi.
Kores said “disability discrimination is a priority for the EEOC.” She added, “Employers cannot refuse to hire people with disabilities simply based on discriminatory stereotypes.”
EEOC officials said they filed the lawsuit against Starbucks after first unsuccessfully attempting to reach a voluntary settlement with the coffee company. They said the suit seeks monetary relief in the form of back pay and compensatory and punitive damages, instatement to the job for Hannay and an injunction against future discrimination.
In 2007, Starbucks Corp. paid $85,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed against it by the EEOC that alleged that the coffee purveyor broke the law after it withdrew extraordinary training and support for a barista with a bipolar mental disorder and then fired the employee. As part of that settlement, Starbucks also reportedly agreed to train managers about illegal discrimination and provide the EEOC for one year any information about disability discrimination complaints.
Contact Alan Liddle at [email protected].