Transsexual Claiming Bias Sues Starbucks

[PORTLAND, OR] - An ex-Starbucks employee has filed a lawsuit last week accusing his former employer of discriminating against him because he is a transsexual.

Andrew Weston, formerly Ann, claims in a suit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court that he was fired without explanation in 2001 after he began transitioning from a woman to a man.

Weston claims that he had previously received regular raises and promotions from Starbucks since starting with the company in 1999.

The suit, filed under a Portland ordinance banning discrimination against transsexuals, seeks more than $1 million in lost wages, future wages, and pain and suffering.

Lara M. Wyss, a spokeswoman in the company's Seattle offices, released the following statement:

"Starbucks Coffee Company is an equal opportunity employer and embraces diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. We take any claim of discrimination seriously. At this time, however, Starbucks has not been served with any complaint in Oregon, or elsewhere, that alleges discrimination of this nature and we therefore have no information to provide."