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Starbucks sued for firing dwarf for being ‘danger to customers’

Bubba

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Aug 20, 2010
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Shit, it sucks to be short :neutral:

AUSTIN, TEXAS—The U.S. government is suing Starbucks, saying the coffee company fired a barista in El Paso, Texas 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.
The commission, which filed the lawsuit Monday, said that Starbucks violated federal law by denying a reasonable accommodation to the employee, who was hired in July 2009 and was fired after three days of training.

"Starbucks has become a virtual icon of modern American culture, appealing to an incredibly diverse customer base," Robert Canino, a commission lawyer in Dallas, said in a statement. "We'd hope that when considering hiring a person with a disability, Starbucks would choose to enhance its brand with the mark of equal opportunity and access."

Stacey Krum, a spokeswoman for Starbucks, said the woman was hired on a trial basis and after three days the store manager decided that the work was too physically demanding for her to perform.
"Using the stool in that environment just wasn't a reasonable accommodation in that store," Krum said.

https://www.thestar.com/business/ar...ring-dwarf-for-being-danger-to-customers?bn=1
 
Why did they hire her in the first place?. Obviously they knew she would need some kind of help getting at things.
 
Curly said:
Why did they hire her in the first place?. Obviously they knew she would need some kind of help getting at things.

because if they didn't they probably would have been charged with discrimination....

Once again the news media doesn't just report the news, they put their own spin on it.

If in fact she was let go because she couldn't perform her duties as required, then there is NO problem with that and the lawsuit should be dismissed (or disregarded).

For eg: if she couldn't reach the shelves where everything is stored, or the machines, and putting a stool behind the counter would create a dangerous situation for the other employees, then her dismissal is justified.

Just like if a short person tried out for the NBA, doesn't matter how good he was, he wouldn't be able to compete with guys 6' taller than him.

(btw, I don't look at being a dwarf or short as a disability, a disability is being paralized from the neck down......)
 
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