Current:Home > ContactFlorida attorney general says state will investigate Starbucks for DEI practices -Streamline Finance
Florida attorney general says state will investigate Starbucks for DEI practices
View
Date:2025-04-18 02:58:22
Florida's top legal officer on Wednesday said the state will investigate Starbucks, the multinational chain of coffeehouses, for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
"So many of these DEI policies that have been pushed in corporate America that were meant to address and prevent discrimination are now pushing policies and programs and initiatives that may in fact be unlawful employment practices, in fact becoming discriminatory themselves," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, while appearing on Sean Hannity's radio show, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis guest hosted.
Moody filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which she said would launch a "full investigation." The decades-old commission is meant to enforce the Florida Civil Rights Act and address discrimination issues.
"We're going to make sure that this quota for hiring and programs that cause every employee to determine whether they are the problem based on the color of their skin, whether that violates Florida's anti-discrimination laws," Moody said.
The governor, an opponent of DEI programs who signed a bill last year banning such initiatives at state universities, thanked her for the work: "You should treat people as individuals, judge them based on the content of their character, not the color of their skin or their ethnicity or anything like that."
Both the Commission on Human Relations and Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Over the past few years, Republican lawmakers across the country have sought to dismantle DEI programs in higher education and in the corporate world. Since last year, some 85 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 states, with 13 becoming law, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Conservative groups argue that the initiatives are discriminatory to those not benefitting from them, while supporters say programs are tackling systemic inequality.
More:Trump tried to crush the 'DEI revolution.' Here's how he might finish the job.
DEI under siege:Why more businesses are being accused of ‘reverse discrimination’
Starbucks has a DEI page on its website
In the complaint, Moody accused the company of having policies that “appear on their face to discriminate on the basis of race.”
She pointed to a portion of Starbucks' website that mentioned the company’s “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.”
She also brought up how executive bonuses were tied to DEI goals, which was also mentioned.
Starbucks promotes on a separate webpage a commitment to diversity and inclusion, saying it has anti-bias curriculum, pay equity and that it was working to "enhance our efforts in reaching a broader pool of candidates and reaching talent that brings new perspectives and experiences to improve our business and workplace."
But the company's investors earlier this year in a non-binding vote approved a plan to drop executive bonuses correlated with DEI goals.
Meantime, a federal appeals court recently OK'd a block on a key provision of Florida's "Stop WOKE Act."
That provision restricted businesses' diversity practices and trainings, blocking concepts that could make employees feel "personal responsibility" for actions committed in the past — such as discriminatory ones — by someone of the "same race, color, sex or national origin."
More:Florida Gov. DeSantis hosts Sean Hannity's radio show, warns of threat from the left
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Jelly Roll's private plane makes emergency landing on way to CMT Awards: 'That was scary'
- Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times and how much of the eclipse you can see across the U.S.
- Driver flees after California solo car crash kills 9-year-old girl, critically injures 4 others
- The 'Rebel Ridge' trailer is here: Get an exclusive first look at Netflix movie
- Deion Sanders rips Colorado football after professor says players disrespectful in class
- Jonathan Majors Sentenced to 52-Week Counseling Program in Domestic Violence Case
- An AP photographer works quickly to land a shot from ringside in Las Vegas
- Kehlani Responds to Hurtful Accusation She’s in a Cult
- Over 120 dogs rescued, 8 arrested in suspected dogfighting network in New Jersey
Ranking
- Breaking debut in Olympics raises question: Are breakers artists or athletes?
- The Rock, John Cena, Undertaker bring beautiful bedlam to end of WrestleMania 40
- South Carolina finishes perfect season with NCAA championship, beating Clark and Iowa 87-75
- UConn or Purdue? NCAA Tournament title game picks for for final game of March Madness
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Ohio state lawmaker’s hostile behavior justified legislative punishments, report concludes
- Paul Rudd, Ryan Gosling and more stars welcome Kristen Wiig to the 'SNL' Five-Timers Club
- How South Carolina's Dawn Staley forged her championship legacy after heartbreak of 1991
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
See the list of notable past total solar eclipses in the U.S. since 1778
Michelle Troconis, convicted of conspiracy in Jennifer Dulos murder, was fooled by boyfriend, says sister
Two years after its historic win, a divided Amazon Labor Union lurches toward a leadership election
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
See the evidence presented at Michelle Troconis' murder conspiracy trial
Salvage crews have begun removing containers from the ship that collapsed Baltimore’s Key bridge
Deion Sanders rips Colorado football after professor says players disrespectful in class