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Florida attorney general says state will investigate Starbucks for DEI practices

Florida's top legal officer on Wednesday said the state will investigate Starbucks, the multinational chain of coffeehouses, for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

"So many of these DEI policies that have been pushed in corporate America that were meant to address and prevent discrimination are now pushing policies and programs and initiatives that may in fact be unlawful employment practices, in fact becoming discriminatory themselves," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, while appearing on Sean Hannity's radio show, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis guest hosted.

Moody filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which she said would launch a "full investigation." The decades-old commission is meant to enforce the Florida Civil Rights Act and address discrimination issues. "We're going to make sure that this quota for hiring and programs that cause every employee to determine whether they are the problem based on the color of their skin, whether that violates Florida's anti-discrimination laws," Moody said.

The governor, an opponent of DEI programs who signed a bill last year banning such initiatives at state universities, thanked her for the work: "You should treat people as individuals, judge them based on the content of their character, not the color of their skin or their ethnicity or anything like that." Both the Commission on Human Relations and Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/23/florida-investigates-dei-starbucks/73816554007/