A Starbucks manager at a Long Beach store is suing the coffee house chain, alleging she was denied a transfer to a safer location after being told that despite her complaint about someone pacing at her location with a large knife, such problems were common at Starbucks stores.
Ashley Bautista’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges disability discrimination, failure to reasonably accommodate a disability and engage in the interactive process as well as violations of the state Labor Code. She seeks at least $1 million in damages.
A Starbucks representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Thursday.
Bautista, hired in 2018, was a shift manager at the Long Beach store in the 2200 block of East Carson Street in early May when “an aggressive individual ended up pacing plaintiff’s work location with a large knife in his hands,” the suit states.
Based on the person’s prior behavior, Bautista believed the individual “wanted to use the large knife on her,” the suit states. She complained to her district manager about the alleged unsafe conditions of the store, but her concerns were dismissed and she instead was given a week off, the suit states.
When Bautista returned, she met with her district manager and supervisor, told them she was seeking therapy and requested a transfer because she did not feel mentally capable of remaining at the same store, the suit states.
But the district manager replied that her request was being denied because “similar incidents happen at all Starbucks locations” and that store managers “just had to deal with such situations,” the suit states.
Bautista was told to ask for a temporary leave of absence in order to “avoid a termination for unexcused absences,” the suit added. Not wanting to lose her job, she applied for the leave as well as for manager positions at other Starbucks stores nearby, the suit states.
Bautista was taken off the work schedule and was not told anything about how Starbucks would work with her to accommodate her needs, according to the suit, which further states that on Aug. 3 she submitted a doctor’s note requesting more time off to deal with a disability that is not specified in her complaint.
Bautista subsequently made numerous attempts to return to work, but Starbucks did not call her back until Nov. 23, all of which caused her financial losses and emotional distress, the suit states. Bautista alleges that her transfer denial, her lengthy leave and her denial of accommodations were in retaliation for her complaints about her unsafe workplace conditions.
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