Starbucks sued by EEOC over firing of disabled woman

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/09/11/daily28.html

Starbucks sued by EEOC over firing of disabled woman
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - 2:49 PM PDT Thursday


The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Starbucks Coffee Co., saying the coffee retailer didn't accommodate the needs of a disabled woman, fired her, and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

According to the government's workplace discrimination lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) knew that Christine Drake had a psychiatric disability when she was hired, and granted her "a reasonable accommodation that allowed her to successfully perform her job for two years."

In a statement, the EEOC says that when new management took over the store at 425 Queen Anne Ave. N. in Seattle, "the new management almost immediately began discriminating against Drake by decreasing her hours, berating her in front of customers, and ignoring her requests for help which continued on a near daily basis until she was fired."

Kathryn Olson, supervisory trial attorney with the EEOC in the Seattle field office, said that the "reasonable accommodation" for Drake included additional training and other accommodations.

"She might not get assigned to making drinks during the busiest time of the day. That kind of difficulty she had performing under extreme pressure could be taken into account," Olson said.

The suit seeks monetary damages, training on anti-discrimination laws, posting of notices at the work site, "and other injunctive relief," according to the EEOC.

In a statement, Starbucks responded: "Starbucks Coffee Company has not been contacted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about this lawsuit nor have we seen a copy of the complaint."

[1monster]

1. If they made accommodations for two years, then I can't see where

the new management has a leg to stand on.