Starbucks, the Upper Class of Coffee, had Workers Not so Classy by Mocking Deaf Clients

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

Some Starbucks workers in the city were so rude to deaf customers they mocked them and called the police to try to get them kicked out, a lawsuit says.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an order from the court to stop discriminatory behavior for what's described as multiple occasions of abuse over the past year.

The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan last week on behalf of 12 people, says one Starbucks Corp. employee laughed hysterically at a plaintiff's speech while others objected to a monthly meeting of a group of deaf people named Deaf Chat Coffee and called police.

Starbucks spokeswoman Jamie Riley said the Seattle-based company, which refers to its employees as partners, is investigating.

"Discrimination of any kind at Starbucks in unacceptable," she said. "We take these allegations very seriously and believe that they are neither in line with our values nor our track record of engaging the deaf community as partners and as customers."

The lawsuit said the police were summoned to a Starbucks store at Astor Place, in lower Manhattan, on March 7 after more than 10 people, some of whom bought coffee and pastries, gathered for the monthly meeting.

According to the lawsuit, those participating in the meeting were "shocked and frightened" when police responded to a report of a disturbance.

Read More... http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9173726

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