EEOC Sues Starbucks For Firing Hispanic Dwarf
By ONANTZIN News
2011-05-25
EL Paso, TX -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Starbucks in Federal District Court in El Paso, alleging Starbucks fired Martin "El Enano" Jimenez Gonzalez in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Gonzalez, a former jockey from Juarez, Mexico, suffers from dwarfism and was fired after allegedly requesting that Starbucks provide a stool in order for him to perform his duties as a barista.
"I came to this country to do the work that tall people refuse to do! I left my country to start a better life. It's very dangerous in Ciudad Juarez. Los Zetas, they try to kill me, but they miss - twice" Gonzalez stated.
In court filings, Starbucks argues that providing Gonzalez a stool would pose a danger to customers and coworkers, and therefore, they are not liable pursuant to the ADA. The suit alleges Gonzalez' request was a reasonable accommodation and the real reason he was fired was due to his dwarfism.
Victor Guzman, Director of the EEOC in El Paso stated, "Starbucks' claim that providing Gonzalez a stool would cause undue hardship is pretextual! They sell dwarf sillitas in Cuidad Juarez for only 10 pesos, and all the dwarfs there have been using them for years without any safety issues! What's going to be their next excuse? that they can't afford them? The sillitas are less than one of their Venti vanilla soy, sugar free Frappuccinos with heavy whip cream, canela dusted with light caramel sauce. In fact, after Gonzalez joined Starbucks, sales of hot chocolate went up 150%! There's no excuse; they fired him because he is a dwarf!"
Alto Girafales, spokesperson for Starbucks said the following: "Unlike the EEOC, we will not try this case in the court of public opinion, but in front of a jury of Gonzalez' peers. It would be very dangerous having a midget stand on a stool while making piping hot espresso. We'll save all our other comments for court". Legal analysts believe this will be a tough case for Starbucks to win and point to the fact that due to its proximity to Mexico, El Paso County has the largest concentration of chaparros who will be sympathetic to Gonzalez' case.
A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity had this to say: "El Enano? A dwarf? Ha! Ese guey isn't a dwarf; He's not even Mexican. El cabron is just a short Guatemalan! I worked with him at Starbucks and the real reason sales of hot chocolate went up was because he was using Abuelita chocolate with a molinillo instead of Starbucks brand of chocolate - that's the reason why Starbucks should have fired him!"
Starbucks had no comment regarding the anonymous remarks, or the usage of Abuelita chocolate to increase its sales.