State of Missouri sues Starbucks
President Donald Trump has taken aim at DEI policies and schemes since beginning
his second term in the White House.
Wednesday 12 February 2025 14:51, UK
The state of Missouri has sued Starbucks, claiming its diversity, equity and
inclusion (DEI) policies have led to customers paying more and waiting longer
for their coffees.
The US state alleged the coffee chain used a commitment to diversity as a
pretext to systematically discriminate based on race, gender and sexual
orientation.
In the complaint, filed in St Louis federal court, Missouri also claimed
executive pay was tied to the company achieving race and gender-based hiring
quotas.
“Starbucks has decided to require outright race and sex-based discrimination in
hiring via quotas, segregate employees on unlawful bases, and single out
preferred groups for additional training and employment benefits,” the lawsuit
read.
It added Starbucks’ actions had led to customers paying more and waiting longer
for its goods and services as “the most qualified workers” weren’t hired.
Starbucks described the allegations as “inaccurate” and added: “We are deeply
committed to creating opportunity for every single one of our partners
(employees). Our programmes and benefits are open to everyone and lawful.”
The move from Republican attorney general Andrew Bailey marks the latest efforts
in the US to push back DEI policies, led by Donald Trump’s new administration.
Mr Trump has tried to shut down such efforts inside the federal government and
some companies have followed suit.
On Tuesday, Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs cancelled a policy to take companies
public only if they had two diverse board members.
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Last week meanwhile, Google got rid of its diversity-based hiring targets and
Amazon.com removed a reference to inclusion and diversity from its annual
report.
The policies under question were adopted by Starbucks in 2020, in the surging
Black Lives Matter movement that followed the murder of George Floyd
[https://news.sky.com/topic/george-floyd-8709].
Missouri added that Starbucks’ alleged behaviour “should come as no surprise,”
pointing to new chief executive Brian Niccol’s support of environmental, social
and governance goals while leading Chipotle.
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The state is hoping to force Starbucks to end its diversity policies, rehire and
rescind discipline against employees affected and pay unspecified damages.
