Starbucks employees could be fired for supporting Hamas attacks in Israel, a former federal prosecutor has said.
Bill Shipley, now a criminal defense attorney, made his comments after the Starbucks Workers United trade union allowed its social media to be used for posts that appeared to support Hamas. Newsweek has sought comment from Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United via email.
The controversy came days after Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history on October 7. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza.
"That could very well be a basis for 'for cause' termination even with a union contract," Shipley posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. For cause, in U.S. employment law, means the termination of an employee for some negative act on their part.
Shipley was reacting to a social-media post last week by Starbucks Workers United, representing around 9,000 of the company's baristas.
The union posted the message "Solidarity with Palestine" on the social-media platform X. It was above an image of a bulldozer operated by Hamas tearing down a fence on the Gaza Strip during the attacks against Israel, according to news organizations that screen-grabbed the post. The person who posted the message on the union's X account has many messages on his own social-media pages that support the Hamas attack.
The union's account has since deleted the tweet, but not before it sparked some calls for a boycott of Starbucks. The coffeeshop chain moved quickly to distance itself from the controversy and said it does not tolerate antisemitism or support for terrorism.
Several employment lawyers told Newsweek that Starbucks and other employees must not overstep the boundary and fire employees simply for expressing pro-Palestinian views.
Ron Zambrano, a partner and employment chair at the West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm in Los Angeles, said that employers can "discharge or otherwise discipline employees for conduct outside the workplace," but not if it is based on national origin.
"For example, if your boss doesn't like your political views espoused through social media, nothing is unlawful if that is the motivating factor, such as your boss doesn't like Democrats.
"However, because the Palestinian issue is really the support of a particular people of national origin, I'd advise Mr. Shipley he may be walking into the realm of discrimination against employees, due to their association with a particular group from a particular national origin; that is, Palestinians, or even pro-Israeli," Zambrano said.
Employees in California, where the West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm is based, "would be protected under employment laws that prevent retaliation or discrimination of employees who are associated with a protected class, such as national origin."
Zambrano said that there are similar protections federally, such as Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. It is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Federal attorney Colleen Kerwick told Newsweek that more than 360 Starbucks stores have unionized, but the chain has yet to sign a collective bargaining agreement with its workers. "One of the proposed rights for the collective bargaining agreement is 'discipline and discharge for fair cause only' and 'a legal process and neutral decision-maker to fight when disputes arise,'" Kerwick said.
"I am not surprised that they may discriminate against political expression in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where there are extremists and victims on both sides," Kerwick added.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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