Man With Half an Arm Sues Starbucks for Discrimination

Starbucks could be in for some trouble. The coffee company is facing allegations of discrimination from a job applicant who claimed he was “blatantly” discriminated against due to his disability during a recent job interview in San Diego.

In court documents filed last week, Eli Pierre, who was born with half of a left arm, alleged he “was not hired for the position because of his disability, despite his capable work history.”

According to the complaint, after Pierre mentioned to an interviewer that his disability wouldn’t be an issue for a barista position, a hiring manager stated, “Oh, at our store our syrups are up high, and I have to extend my whole body to pump it. You can’t work here with one arm.”

“We employ many individuals with a wide range of disabilities. A disability such as Mr. Pierre’s would not disqualify him, or any other candidate, for employment at Starbucks,” a spokesperson for Starbucks told ABC News.

“Based on our initial investigation, we found that Mr. Pierre’s description of what occurred during the interview is vastly different than our own,” said the spokesperson, who added that Pierre was considered for the position based on his responses in the interview and qualifications.

“We decided not to move forward with Mr. Pierre’s application for the Mission Valley location,” the spokesperson said.

The complaint filed by Pierre claims that, due to constant interruptions, his interview only lasted 10 to 15 minutes. After mentioning a previous part time-position at Victoria’s Secret, the interviewer turned to the shift manager and stated, “maybe he can help you find the right bra size.”

The complaint states Pierre was “shocked and offended” by the remark “after being discriminated against based on his disability.”

The suit stated there was “no discussion of any possible accommodations of Pierre, no discussion of whether he actually needed any accommodations, no discussion about how he could perform the essential job functions and no discussion of his past experience, which may be analogous to the position and duties at Starbucks.

“Pierre was simply summarily dismissed based on his appearance/disability/perceived disability … without further investigation that Pierre could not do the job,” stated the complaint.