Starbucks Refuses to Let Dwarf Employee Use a Step Stool

on May 18, 2011 at 12:48 PM

People tend to either love or hate Starbucks. And many of those who love it are those who hate major corporations like Wal-Mart because of how they treat their employees. Well now they have to hate Starbucks, too. Starbucks is in trouble because they fired an employee who was also a dwarf because they didn't want to allow her to use a step stool.

Elsa Sallard, a dwarf, was hired to work as a Starbucks barista in El Paso, Texas. According to her lawsuit, she was only allowed to train for three days because after she asked for a step stool to do her job, they fired her. The question at hand: Did Starbucks violate the Americans With Disabilities Act, which mandates that employers must make reasonable work accommodations to avoid discrimination?

The answer: yes. Because how hard is it to keep a step stool on hand?

It had to happen sometime. No corporation is without blame for something. Wal-Mart treats their employees badly. Cracker Barrel discriminates against gays. And Exxon Mobil is trying to destroy the environment.

There are numerous reasons to not like corporations, from the CEO salary to the way the door greeter is denied medical coverage, but discriminating against employees or not making accommodations for their shorter stature is right up there with oil in the water supply in terms of egregious corporate behavior.

Starbucks argued at the time that to make such accommodations would be dangerous to all employees. And obviously handling hot beverages and steaming things during a rush with a tripping hazard in the way IS dangerous. Plus, there is an assumed height in the job description as she must be able to reach the counter where the entire job takes place.

On the other hand (the RIGHT hand, as it were), there shouldn't be a job that a person who is intellectually capable of performing isn't allowed to perform. If she can't work at Starbucks, that also eliminates 90 percent of the jobs in the service industry, which leaves her where? Unemployed? How is that fair?

It isn't unreasonable to expect employees to step around her or to build something into the floor that allows her to stand high enough to reach over the counter.

It isn't an ideal scenario, but then neither is being born a little different than others. Do we really want to be the kind of society that discriminates based on height? Starbucks has plenty of money and creativity, and I am willing to bet they could have sat down, focused, and come up with a safe and feasible solution for her to be able to continue working. Instead, they chose to let her go.

And so they deserve to get sued. I hope she makes all the money she would have made working there and gets to do whatever she wants with it.

Do you think Starbucks was wrong?

Image via Cherrysweetdeal/Flickr

About the author Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

Filed Under: corporations

Comments (25)

ARmom

on May 18, 2011 at 12:55 PM

While I understand Starbuck's position that having a stepstool behind the counter could create a hazardous work environment for other employees, I wonder why she was even hired in the first place?Couldn't they tell she was short?
Did they promise her a step stool upon hiring?

I can vouch for the hazardous conditions. In my house, I have 4 small kids leaving a step stool lying around my kitchen so they can reach things. You don't want to know how many times I trip over it, even though I see it there.

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ms_danielle_j

on May 18, 2011 at 1:01 PM

@ARmom: as someone with a disability the law does state that there has to be accomodations made for people with disabilities. I'm pretty sure they knew of her condition upon hiring and should've made a stepstool available. I'm pretty sure they can find some place to put a simple step stool. I have one in my house and it has a specific place. My toddler even knows this and when he uses it he puts it back where it goes. I have never had a problem tripping over it.....

Shanin22

on May 18, 2011 at 1:17 PM

I use to work for Starbucks and I completely understand where they're coming from. Do you have any idea how chaotic it is behind the counter during morning rush? Seven or eight employees running around in a small space carrying scalding hot drinks? A stool would be incredibly dangerous. Then Starbucks would get sued because an employee tripped and burnt their arm. They can't really win here.

I'm also disabled (legally blind) and stand behind the ADA... but this isn't a reasonable accommodation. There are some jobs that people with certain disabilities simply can't do. Now that I've lost my sight, I can no longer work for Starbucks because I would be a danger to my fellow employees. I know we want to be all PC and say "any disabled person can do any job they want" but that's just not the case. But that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of other opportunities out there. Sometimes a disabled person just has to gain a higher education or be more selective about their career. I may not be able to work at Starbucks anymore but after another year of college I'll be an engineer.... it's not always a fair world but you can work above it ;)

Elyssa414

on May 18, 2011 at 1:25 PM

When I worked at Starbucks I was pregnant and having problems being on my feet all day, so they gave me a tall chair to sit at the register on! I'm surprised that this Sbux couldn't be as accommodating! :(

momtothemax2910

on May 18, 2011 at 1:28 PM

Yes. Starbucks was wrong. They do do interviews. They knew her height and they hired her. Then they fired her because of her disability. That is wrong.

Nonmember comment from PC Ferret

on May 18, 2011 at 1:39 PM

This is interesting. I happen to know about a "folding" stepstool that can be attached to floor cabinets that is spring-loaded and can be deployed easily by a person with their hands full since it uses a kick to deploy it; stepping off it raises it back to the folded position, when it's about an inch and a half thick.

Bethsunshine

If Starbucks knew that letting her use a stepstool would be a problem, and that she wouldn't be able to work without it, then they shouldn't have hired her in the first place. To me, it's like hiring someone who isn't qualified, KNOWING they aren't qualified, and then firing them when they can't do the job. In addition, if you have a disability, and know that you can't perform on the job without being accomodated in such a way that it will affect other employees or clients, then you should look for another job. Not every person in the world can do EVERY job in the world.

Nonmember comment from Jackie

on May 18, 2011 at 1:42 PM

There was a western sort of movie not long ago with Helen Hunt as a barkeep - the long bar had a narrow platform along the length of it for her.

meatball77

on May 18, 2011 at 2:12 PM

She may have told them she'd be ok without a stool until she got working and realised it wouldn't work.

I've worked in food service and there is no way that you could put something like a stool in the small behind the counter area and have it not get in the way. I'm sure she could stand on a stool and work the register but no job in food service allows to only stay in one place..

LoriAnn87

on May 18, 2011 at 2:17 PM

This is so stuipd and so wrong. I'm short and I work in a supermarket, I can't reach the top shevle to get things down so they have a step stool for all employees to use and I use it everytime I need it. We have the one that folds up and can be put in a small space and can be brought anytime some one needs it.