Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Barista sues downtown Starbucks for age discrimination

Manager allegedly slighted 58-year-old woman over gray hair and more

A 58-year-old barista who worked at the Starbucks located at 511 F Street says she was roasted by former managers for being too old for her job.

On Monday, November 18, the barista, Mary McLain, filed suit against the coffee chain in San Diego's federal district court for wrongful termination, age discrimination, harassment, and unlawful retaliation.

McLain alleges that for most of her ten years as an employee she received numerous commendations from several different managers.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That changed in 2011, according to her complaint, when manager Robert Torrey gave McLain her first negative job review. Around the same time, he refused to give the barista a raise and instead chose to promote younger workers ahead of her, despite her job performance.

McLain says her complaints about the unfair treatment fell on deaf ears when she approached the district manager. Left with nowhere to turn to, she took her complaints to the corporate office.

In the following months, work conditions improved — that is, until January 2012, when her manager told her that "she should get her hair done because the gray was showing and it does not look good" and "to slow down while mopping the floor because she might have a heart attack."

On June 15, McLain was "two minutes" late to work due to car problems. Six days later, Torrey fired her.

"Plaintiff was harassed, and subjected to a hostile work environment by the actions, conduct, and comments of Defendant's employees, which actions, conduct, and comments combined to create and allow a pattern of discriminatory and harassing treatment of plaintiff because she was and is over the age of 40 and because she reported unlawful discrimination and harassment."

McLain is suing the coffee chain for lost wages, humiliation, emotional distress, as well as "punitive" and exemplary damages.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Next Article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment

A 58-year-old barista who worked at the Starbucks located at 511 F Street says she was roasted by former managers for being too old for her job.

On Monday, November 18, the barista, Mary McLain, filed suit against the coffee chain in San Diego's federal district court for wrongful termination, age discrimination, harassment, and unlawful retaliation.

McLain alleges that for most of her ten years as an employee she received numerous commendations from several different managers.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That changed in 2011, according to her complaint, when manager Robert Torrey gave McLain her first negative job review. Around the same time, he refused to give the barista a raise and instead chose to promote younger workers ahead of her, despite her job performance.

McLain says her complaints about the unfair treatment fell on deaf ears when she approached the district manager. Left with nowhere to turn to, she took her complaints to the corporate office.

In the following months, work conditions improved — that is, until January 2012, when her manager told her that "she should get her hair done because the gray was showing and it does not look good" and "to slow down while mopping the floor because she might have a heart attack."

On June 15, McLain was "two minutes" late to work due to car problems. Six days later, Torrey fired her.

"Plaintiff was harassed, and subjected to a hostile work environment by the actions, conduct, and comments of Defendant's employees, which actions, conduct, and comments combined to create and allow a pattern of discriminatory and harassing treatment of plaintiff because she was and is over the age of 40 and because she reported unlawful discrimination and harassment."

McLain is suing the coffee chain for lost wages, humiliation, emotional distress, as well as "punitive" and exemplary damages.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Next Article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.