A former Starbucks employee is taking legal action against the coffee chain for wrongful termination. The former worker claims the chain wrongly terminated him after confronting robbers at the St. Louis store he worked at. 20-year-old Michael Harris was working a drive-thru shift in December 2023 when two men allegedly entered the store.
The former barista claims the men began frisking customers after entering the store and demanded cash from the register. Harris said he tried to open it, but one of the robbers hit him on the head with a gun. “I thought I was gonna die that day … they walked in, announced that it was a robbery,” Harris recalled.
“I tried to help get the cash register open. It wasn’t going as planned,” Harris said. “I tried to ask a supervisor to get up off the ground, but at that point, I got pistol-whipped in the back of the head.” He added that he lay on the ground and tried not to do anything afterward. Also, the former barista said he felt “endangered.”
“So me and a co-worker were staring at each other and stuff, but they started frisking us down…,” he continued. “Pushing us around, taking our personal belongings, and we started to fight back.” When the two men demanded cash from the register, Harris said he tried to comply with their demands.
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However, he did not have the proper managerial clearance to access the computer register. When he took too long, one of the thieves pistol-whipped him, and one of Harris’ co-workers noticed that a portion of the weapon broke off.
Hence, the employees concluded that the gun was a fake and decided to fight back against the thieves. A fight ensued, and one of the robbers ran off. However, Harris and his co-worker restrained the other until the police arrived. However, the chain fired Harris and his colleague weeks after the incident.
According to Harris, the company did not clarify why they terminated them or what they could have done differently during the incident. Harris’s attorney, Ryan Krupp, said his client acted in self-defense when the robbers entered the store. “You have the human right to defend yourself from being attacked,” Krupp said.
“In Missouri, we have a stand-your-ground law, which would supersede any corporate policy,” he added. “No corporation should be able to put a policy that overrides your human rights in place.” In addition, Krupp condemned Starbucks for not citing any reason for the wrongful termination.
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“And not only that but in this case, Starbucks did not cite such a policy when they decided to let Mr. Harris go,” Krupp stated. “Of course, they’re going to rely on that now, but we have other plans.” In a statement following the lawsuit, Starbucks said they expect all employees “to follow carefully crafted protocols.”
The coffee chain noted that the protocols are “to ensure the safety of customers and partners during these situations.” In addition, the company said all employees go through de-escalation training. This training includes armed robbery scenarios where they expect employees to comply with demands.
Also, they expect workers to avoid anything that could escalate the situation. However, Harris and his attorneys said Starbucks’ policy is “unfair,” noting the policy is unrealistic in real-life situations.
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