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Florida calls for probe of Starbucks’ diversity policies
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is calling for a state investigation of Starbucks for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices, saying the coffee chain may be violating the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a complaint against Starbucks on Wednesday as the governor filled in for Fox News’ Sean Hannity as a guest host on Hannity’s conservative radio show.
“We’re going to make sure that in Florida 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, and so the matter will be investigated,” Moody, a Republican said on the show.
The matter is being referred to the Florida Commission on Human Relations for an investigation, she added.
DeSantis welcomed the move, saying people should not be judged on “the color of their skin or their ethnicity or anything like that.”
The commission, established to enforce the Florida Civil Rights Act, recently sparked controversy after Black clergy slammed the panel for halting inductions into its Civil Rights Hall of Fame during the governor’s first term.
Moody’s complaint accuses Starbucks of having policies that appear to discriminate on the basis of race, and cites mention of the company’s hiring goals of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) on the company’s website.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court in March found unconstitutional a main provision of Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act” that restricted businesses’ diversity programs and blocked ideas that might make workers feel responsible for racial injustices that occurred in the past.
Starbucks and Moody’s office did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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