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 In this photo taken Monday, April 25, 2011, a Starbucks cup is shown in Cherry Hill, N.J. Starbucks Corp.'s on Wednesday April 27, 2011 said that its second-quarter net income jumped 20 percent as more customers visited its stores, and it bumped up its earnings forecast for the year. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)  

Shorty sues Starbucks

10:51 AM 05/18/2011
interns

The government is suing Starbucks Coffee Company for firing a barista in El Paso because she is a dwarf.

When the employee asked for a stool or small stepladder to perform her job, Starbucks denied the request and fired her that same day, claiming that she could be a danger to customers and workers, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Full story: U.S. sues Starbucks for firing dwarf from barista job

Tags: Starbucks
  • onlyme

    I can see why she sued. Yes they hired her, possibly to avoid a discrimination lawsuit to begin with, but then fired her shortly after(no pun intended). You would think that if you’ve lived with this handicap your entire life, you’d know how to handle stepping on and off a stool efficiently and effectively enough. Instead of granting her the benefit of the doubt, they quickly saw her as a liability so they got rid of her. Anyone can file for workers comp at any time. Accidents happen. But they discriminated her based off her request for a stool.

    • jjsmithers

      Do you think it is a good idea to have somebody making steaming hot coffee drinks standing on a ladder or stool ? Even if there was plenty of room, and no other employees or customers anywhere in the area, that seems like another lawsuit waiting to happen.

      And OSHA might have something to say about that, too. If they have her standing on a stool, they probably have to have all sorts of safety harnesses for her. Probably classes and instruction on how to use the safety harnesses, and all kinds of regulations about the harnesses themselves. It would look more like some circus trapeze act than an employee making coffee.

      Sometimes, people with disabilities have to find a different kind of work. There is no “right” to be a “barista”.

      Their mistake seems to have been hiring her to begin with.

  • thephranc

    A step stool becomes a hazard if its in the way of foot traffic. Some people are just not cut out for some jobs. You don’t hire a guy in a wheel chair to do roofing. You shouldn’t hire a midget to work behind a busy counter if they need a step stool.

    • jjsmithers

      But they gave the dwarf the job anyway, and it didn’t work out. Now, they get repaid with a lawsuit because she wanted to make steaming hot coffee drinks while perched on a stool or, heaven forbid, a stepladder.

      And our idiot politicians can’t figure out why business owners just prefer to hire the job candidate that is not going to mean a lawsuit if he or she has to be let go. (Which applicant might that be ?)

      American business owners try to hire the best candidate for their business– it would be foolish not to. But, so many of us are also trying to give somebody a real chance, a real equal opportunity to make it. However, sometimes it just doesn’t work out with the employee, and we end up getting sued. How does that help the next person who just needs a fair shot ?

    • bpirlot

      It pays to be a victim now days. If you physical or mentally can’t perform, just sue someone else over it.