NEWARK (1010 WINS) -- A former Starbucks barista from Newark is suing the coffee chain, alleging she was wrongfully fired for refusing to wear a Pride shirt because of her religious beliefs.
Betsy Fresse filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark last week, according to NJ.com.
In the suit, Fresse claims she was “assured” by her managers at a Glen Ridge location last June that she didn’t have to wear a Pride shirt at work, only to be sent a notice of separation two months later for “acting in violation of Starbucks’ core values.”
The notice of separation states that when Fresse was given a Pride shirt, she said her co-workers “need Jesus,” according to NBC News.
Fresse said her religious beliefs, including that “marriage is defined in the Bible as between one man and one woman only,” were well known at her work.
According to the suit, Fresse “holds no enmity toward individuals who ascribe to the LGBTQ lifestyle and/or make up the LGBTQ community,” but she “believes that being made to wear a Pride T-shirt as a condition of employment would be tantamount to forced speech and inaccurately show her advocacy of a lifestyle in direct contradiction to her religious beliefs.”
Fresse is seeking backpay, punitive damages and compensation for emotional pain and suffering. She is also seeking a permanent injunction to prevent Starbucks from “failing to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs” of its employees.
A Starbucks spokesperson told NBC News that Fresse’s claims were “without merit.”
“Starbucks does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation,” the spokesperson told the outlet, adding that other than a Starbucks green apron, “no part of our dress code requires partners to wear any approved items that they have not personally selected.”