Missouri AG sues Starbucks over ‘race-based’ hiring, DEI initiatives

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued Starbucks on Tuesday for using “race-based hiring practices” in alleged violation of anti-discrimination laws.

Bailey’s lawsuit alleges that Starbucks violates the Missouri Human Rights Act. The lawsuit highlights programs Starbucks offers to promote “BIPOC” employees, referring to Black, indigenous and people of color. It also targets the company for “setting and tracking annual inclusion and diversity goals of achieving BIPOC representation of at least 30 percent at all corporate levels and at least 40 percent of all retail and manufacturing roles by 2025,” according to a draft of the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.

“With Starbucks’ discriminatory patterns, practices, and policies, Missouri’s consumers are required to pay higher prices and wait longer for goods and services that could be provided for less had Starbucks employed the most qualified workers, regardless of their race, color, sex, or national origin,” Bailey claimed in a statement.

Starbucks did not respond by press time to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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“As Attorney General, I have a moral and legal obligation to protect Missourians from a company that actively engages in systemic race and sex discrimination,” Bailey said. “Racism has no place in Missouri. We’re filing suit to halt this blatant violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act in its tracks.”

Bailey’s lawsuit relies on the Supreme Court ruling that federal law prohibits discrimination based on race in college admissions, arguing that the decision also applies to hiring practices.

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By allegedly linking its hiring practices to race and gender quotas, Starbucks has “blatantly violated the law,” the lawsuit claims.

“Additionally, the company discriminates based on race and gender when it comes to board membership. All of these actions are unlawful,” Bailey’s office said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes just weeks after news that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol warned the company’s employees about incoming layoffs in March.

In a message to employees, he highlighted how the company aims to deliver on its “Back to Starbucks” strategy, a series of changes announced last year that aims to enhance customers’ in-store experience, but also said it needs to strive for better efficiency, which will ultimately result in layoffs.

“We have recently begun the work to define the support organization for the future. We are approaching this work thoughtfully, but it will involve difficult decisions and choices. I expect that, unfortunately, we will have job eliminations and smaller support teams moving forward,” Niccol wrote.

Read the full Missouri lawsuit below