Starbucks agreed to pay $1 million to end a lawsuit filed by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that alleged the coffee chain used illegal race-based hiring and advancement policies.
Allegations and Evidence
The suit, lodged late last year, claimed the retailer excluded or disfavored non-minorities in hiring, wage setting, mentorship programs, and board participation. The complaint cited a 2020 report that set targets for hiring people of color at 40% of retail and distribution jobs and 30% of corporate positions. It argued that those percentages reflected a policy that favored certain racial groups over others.
Florida also highlighted a 2024 filing indicating that 7.5% of an executive’s compensation would be tied to serving as a mentor for employees who identified as Black, Indigenous, or people of color. Additional claims said the firm paid different wages based on race and used racial quotas in several employment programs.
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Settlement Terms
Under the voluntary resolution, Starbucks will comply with the Florida Civil Rights Act, which bars the conduct described in the complaint. The coffee chain also agreed not to join organizations that require it to increase the racial diversity of its board. It will file annual certifications of continued compliance for the next four years, and those filings will be reviewed by state officials.
Uthmeier’s enforcement action against Starbucks mirrored similar activity at the federal level, where the Trump administration has been engaged in a multiyear campaign against workplace DEI. Agencies including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have issued guidance outlining how DEI programs may be discriminatory.
Allegations of DEI-based discrimination have led to high-dollar payouts. Last week, DOJ announced a $25 million settlement with Accenture after the agency claimed the firm took race and sex into account for hiring and promotions, favoring candidates who advanced its demographic goals. DOJ inked a similar $21.5 million agreement with Deloitte over alleged discrimination in hiring, promotion and staffing decisions in August. Those cases show how federal regulators are intensifying scrutiny of employment policies that reference race or gender.