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Starbucks Age Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Markel Oden has filed a class action lawsuit against Starbucks Corporation.
- Why: The plaintiff alleges Starbucks discriminates against older employees and favors those younger than age 40.
- Where: The lawsuit is pending in Georgia federal court.
Starbucks’ culture and practices favor younger applicants at the expense of their older counterparts, a new class action lawsuit claims.
Lead plaintiff Markel Oden claims that individuals 40 years of age and older are rarely offered store manager positions, whether by application from persons outside the company or from internal applications from employees seeking promotion from within related to posted openings.
“Over the last five or more years, Starbucks has engaged in a targeted, systematic scheme to eliminate and terminate as many of its older workers as possible and become younger in its staffed workforce,” the class action lawsuit states.
Oden claims Starbucks has also terminated a high percentage of its older workers over the age of 40, as compared to its employees under 40, including many employees who had long-standing careers with the company and who did not have a history of written disciplinary action in an effort to obtain a younger workforce.
Starbucks Worker Passed Over for Promotions, Terminated Without Warning, Claims Class Action
Oden, 59, says his superior, who is in her 30s, was promoted to district manager in 2019, after just 3 years as a store manager. He claims he was never given any opportunity to interview for the position when it was open—despite the fact that he had been a store manager for 3 years.
Oden was then terminated from his position in July 2021 without being formally written up or disciplined for any reasons, he says. He also says his last annual job review was excellent. However, he claims he was terminated without warning and without being offered an alternative of a lower-level position
Starbucks also has been found to have had discriminatory employment practices toward African Americans, and even settled with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2021, according to the lawsuit.
In recent years, Starbucks has been accused of depriving employment applicants of their right to correct or explain erroneous background check reports.
The ubiquitous coffee company has also been accused of discriminating against hearing-impaired individuals at certain Starbucks locations.
Are you a Starbucks employee aged 40 or older who feels the company has discriminated against you because of your age? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Mitchell L. Feldman, Esq. of Feldman Legal Group.
The Starbucks Age Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Oden v. Starbucks Corporation, Case No. 1:21-cv-04869-AT-WEJ in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division.
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47 thoughts onStarbucks Favors Younger Workers, Eliminates Those Over 40, New Class Action Claims
ADD me pls
I was terminated in 2011 for the same reason and without warning or disciplinary actions prior. Good reviews and terminated when in a car accident leave. Contact HR and corporate office with chain of commands with no avail
Call me please
Felicia Owens in Starbucks Sabdy Springs, GA location
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please add me on the list
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I worked for Starbucks in 2019. I’m deaf. I was taken off schedule for 2 full weeks and then terminated without any knowledge. I called Starbucks hotline and explained my situation and how I was discriminated. They did nothing. The managers and employees were very rude and they would laugh or get frustrated and even I’ve been pushed in front of customers when I was working the register trying to take orders and I couldn’t understand the customer. I’ve had customers who were kind and once told one of the employees that it wasn’t nice to be rude to me because of my challenges. No matter how much I reported it to the headquarters they wouldn’t even bulge to investigate. I was located at the Miami location.
Please add me
Please add me