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M.H. v. Starbucks Coffee Co.

Starbucks Is Not Liable for Employee Misconduct Under NYS Human Rights Law

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MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER This case is borne of tragic circumstances. When Plaintiff M.H. was only seventeen, she was raped by Justin Mariani, who was then her shift supervisor at Defendant Starbucks Coffee Company. Mariani has since pleaded guilty in criminal court to that horrific crime. M.H. then brought this civil case against Starbucks, seeking to hold it vicariously liable under the New York State Human Rights Law (the “NYSHRL”) for Mariani’s conduct. Starbucks responded by filing the motion to dismiss that is the subject of this opinion, arguing that it could not be held responsible for Mariani’s actions. Because the NYSHRL, unlike two other statutes frequently considered by the Court — Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York City Human Rights Law — permits holding an employer liable only for employee misconduct that it encourages, approves, or condones, and because Plaintiff’s allegations fail to plausibly allege Starbucks’ condonation of Mariani’s behavior, Defendant’s motion to dismiss will be GRANTED. I. BACKGROUND¹ In December 2020, Plaintiff M.H. was hired as a Starbucks barista in Auburn, New York. Dkt. No. 1 (“Compl.”)

7, 29. Id. Through her employment, she met Mariani, who had been hired as a “Shift Supervisor” at the same store a few months earlier on August 28, 2020. Id.

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