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Employee's Tattoos Leads To Title VII Suit Against Starbucks

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It's true that some employers may frown upon visible tattoos, body piercings, and multi-colored hairstyles. But is it illegal to fire somebody based on his or her appearance? Not always.

An employer usually has the right to enforce a dress code and prohibit tattoos or piercings, as long as it's a policy that is applied to everybody within a particular workplace. A former Starbucks shift-manager from Sherman, Texas is now suing the Starbucks company, according to the Southeast Texas Record. He claims that he was fired because of his tattoos.

The employee, Benjamin Amos, claims that the regional and district manager of Starbucks expressed disapproval of his tattoos and asked him to quit. The Southeast Texas Record reports that when Amos did not leave, the store manager was given authorization to fire Mr. Amos; Mr Amos was soon terminated from his position. Yet, Mr. Amos claims that he was not the only employee at the Sherman store with tattoos. The lawsuit alleges that there were several female employees at the Starbucks location with tattoos who were not discharged.

Mr. Amos filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against Starbucks Corp. on February 2, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law outlaws discrimination based on race, religion, sex or national origin in the workplace, according to FindLaw. Texas employment lawyer, Mr. Ronald R. Huff, will be representing the plaintiff, where Mr. Amos is seeking damages for mental anguish, attorney's fees, costs of court, prejudgment and post- judgment interest and punitive damages.

Related Resources:

  • Workplace Discrimination Claims on the Rise (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life blog)
  • Employee Rights: Sex/Gender Discrimination (FindLaw)
  • Texas employment lawyer directory (FindLaw)


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