PARK RIDGE, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- A former Starbucks manager claims she was fired from her job in New Jersey when she was blamed after a barista she supervised was arrested for allegedly spitting in a police officer’s drink, according to a lawsuit.
In June 2016, Kelly Hansen-Grosman, 49, helped open a new location for the coffee company on Kinderkamack Road in Park Ridge, according to the suit filed on Jan. 6 in Superior Court of Bergen County.
The suit states that in Dec. 2019, Starbucks transferred a barista from the Closter store to Park Ridge under the supervision of Hansen-Grosman.
The barista had “performance issues,” such as being tardy or abandoning his shifts, Hansen-Grosman claimed, and was rumored to "have spit into the drink of a law enforcement officer," the suit said.
Hansen-Grosman worked for Starbucks for over 20 years and received numerous awards for her job performance across several stores in Bergen County, court papers said.
Hansen-Grosman informed her supervisor of the alleged incident, "immediately commenced an investigation into the allegation," and scheduled a storewide meeting to discuss the rumor, according to the lawsuit.
The accused barista failed to attend the meeting and texted Hansen-Grosman to request a transfer to a Starbucks in New York City, the suit adds.
The following day, a Park Ridge police detective called Hansen-Grosman to let her know an allegation had been made against the barista for allegedly spitting into the police officer’s drink. She promised the detective she would fully cooperate with the police investigation, then emailed a district supervisor to relay the allegation, the suit states.
The barista, who no longer works for the company, was arrested by Park Ridge officials on July 20, 2021, and was charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer, tampering and creating a hazardous condition.
Charges against the employee are still pending and he has not gone to trial, according to court documents.
Hansen-Grosman claims that district supervisors demanded to see text messages on her personal phone detailing communications she had with the police department following the accused barista's arrest.
The lawsuit also states that Hansen-Grosman declined to allow a supervisor to screenshot her texts and was then asked if she had a personal relationship with the investigating police officer and if she saw him outside of work.
According to the suit, Hansen-Grosman then began to receive several reprimands and slights, such as not acknowledging her birthday and refusing to include her in the “Store Manager Spotlights,” despite continuing to perform at a high level.
She was then threatened with termination and placed on probation for months for failing to have a barista witness corrective action forms she filed when two employees were late for shifts, the suit adds.
She was also told, "you don’t have to be a store manager for Starbucks," and placed on a performance improvement plan for the first in 20 years with the company.
On Jan. 15, 2021, Hansen-Grosman was served with a “Notice of Separation, U.S. Retail,” by district supervisors stating that she had failed to meet expectations in her role as store manager.
"As a result of Kelly’s failure to successfully and consistently complete the objectives outlined in the (performance improvement) plan, the decision has been made to separate Kelly from the Starbucks Coffee Company,' according to the suit.
According to the lawsuit, Hansen-Grosman was fired for her whistleblowing activities, such as a complaint made to human resources and after refusing to allow a manager to take screenshots of texts on her personal phone.
Hansen-Grosman claims to have suffered severe mental and emotional stress, humiliation, damage to reputation, and harm to her career development as a result, the lawsuit states.
She is seeking a jury trial as well as other unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.
A Starbucks spokesperson told NJ.com that they are unable to comment pending litigation.
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