TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Wednesday that his office is suing Starbucks over what he termed “race-based quotas.”

Uthmeier revealed the suit on social media, claiming that Starbucks used diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies to discriminate in hiring and advancement.

“Starbucks made DEI more than a slogan,” he said. “They turned it into a mandatory hiring and promotion system based on race.”

In a complaint, state officials listed out their evidence of the alleged discrimination, including the following situations:

• A 2020 public report pushes to hire “people of color” in 40% of retail and distribution center jobs, and 30% of corporate positions by 2025.
• A 2024 report talks about executive bonuses conditioned on certain DEI goals, including mentorship programs and retention rate quotas for “BIPOC” employees. Officials said this was swapped for “belonging” goals in 2025.

• In the same report, shareholders asked Starbucks to create an audit to determine whether the company’s practices were discriminating against “‘non-diverse’ employees” amid concerns over the company’s emphasis on networking opportunities for people with “shared identities.”

• Shareholders similarly expressed that membership in these so-called “Partner Networks” was often based on traits like race, sex and sexual orientation, with no networks for “non-diverse” groups.

• A 2025 report discusses an ongoing goal to increase the number of “people of color” working in management positions and above by at least 1.5% by FY2026.

Because of these incidents, state officials argued that Starbucks’ policies deliberately discriminated against those from certain “disfavored” races — meaning White people and, up until last year, multiracial and Asian people.

This isn’t the first time that Starbucks has faced these sorts of claims, either. In 2023, a White Starbucks employee was awarded over $25 million after she claimed that her race was used as a factor in her firing.

[BELOW: Starbucks around the US close in 2019 for anti-bias training]

Now, state officials are saying they’ve heard from residents in the Sunshine State who reported their own experiences of racial discrimination.

“Florida residents have contacted the Attorney General and reported that (Starbucks) paid them and their white coworkers lower wages because of their race, refused to hire them or promote them because of their race, created a hostile work environment in which Florida residents felt humiliation, and were excluded from certain mentorship or networking programs because of their race,” the complaint reads.

As such, the Attorney General’s office is accusing Starbucks of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act.

[BELOW: Video shows good Samaritans stop man trying to carjack customers at Starbucks in Florida]

By extension, the Attorney General is pushing for injunctive relief, compensation, and $10,000 penalties for each instance of racial discrimination that the company may have committed against a Florida resident, which Uthmeier’s office estimates to be at least in the “tens of millions.”

Starbucks provided a statement to News 6 following news of the lawsuit, which reads as follows:

“We disagree. We are deeply committed to creating opportunity for every single one of our partners (employees). Our programs and benefits are open to everyone and lawful. Our hiring practices are inclusive, fair and competitive, and designed to ensure the strongest candidate for every job, every time.”

Starbucks spokesperson

Meanwhile, you can read the full complaint below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Solo Ball scored 19 points and No. 5 UConn earned its fourth victory over a ranked opponent already this season, beating No. 18 Florida 77-73 on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic.

Alex Karaban added 13 points and Tarris Reed Jr. had 12 points and five rebounds in his return from a lingering ankle injury that caused him to miss the previous two games. Malachi Smith handed out nine assists as the Huskies (9-1) shot 50%, including 59.3% in the first half while building a seven-point halftime lead.

Ball went 6 of 14 from the field and drained a trio of 3-pointers in a matchup of power programs that have combined to win the past three NCAA titles.

Xaivian Lee led the defending champion Gators (5-4) with 19 points but shot 5 of 14 and missed six of seven 3-point tries. Thomas Haugh added 18 and Alex Condon finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Florida shot 42.4% in a rematch of last season’s second-round NCAA Tournament game that ended UConn’s hopes for a third consecutive national championship.

The Huskies won their fifth straight game since a 71-67 home loss Nov. 19 to then-No. 4 Arizona, now the top-ranked team in the country. UConn also has wins over Top 25 opponents BYU, Illinois and Kansas.

The Huskies won for the 11th time in their past 13 games at Madison Square Garden.

The Gators held a 55-54 lead after a difficult layup by Haugh with 8:02 left, but Connecticut took the lead for good on the next possession on a jumper by Braylon Mullins. Karaban followed with a 3 after blocking Lee’s layup attempt.

Ball made a 3 and then a layup by Smith opened a 66-58 lead with 4:31 remaining.

Still, the Gators had a chance to tie it after Boogie Fland’s layup with 13 seconds to go and a turnover by UConn on the inbounds play. Florida was called for a five-second violation, however, and Ball hit a free throw to seal it.

Up next

Florida: Hosts George Washington on Saturday.

UConn: Hosts Texas on Friday in Hartford.

___

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Florida is four days into its 2025 Black Bear Hunt, but we still don’t know how many bears have been harvested, or even if any hunters have bagged a single bear yet.

When News 6 asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for an update on the number of bears harvested on Monday, a spokesperson said we were told we needed to file a public records request for any data queries, not just the bear hunt.

News 6 has filed that request with the state and is waiting to hear back. We have also asked FWC why the agency has not posted public updates on the bear hunt yet. We are waiting to hear back.

[WATCH: Florida bear hunt begins amid controversy and protests]

FWC allocated 172 permits to allow for bear hunting for the first time in 10 years. Only one bear is allowed per permit.

In 2015, FWC allocated thousands of permits, but stopped the hunt after two days and about 300 bears killed.

Part of the reason may have to do with the difference in how the bear hunt is being run this year.

In 2015, hunters needed to bring their takings to public FWC check-in stations to be registered and weighed.

This year, hunters have 24 hours after their hunt to report their harvest to FWC, and to arrange a time and location to meet and go over their kill.

The state said it decided to conduct the hunt this way because it was more efficient, according to the FWC bear hunt website.

The state also says it released a much smaller number of permits, so hunters have more time to be selective, allowing the season to last longer.

The hunt is also controversial. People packed FWC meetings this year to fight the hunt. Activists filed suit in court.

[WATCH: Non-hunters snagged at least 44 Florida bear hunt permits, records show]

Meanwhile, groups like Bear Warriors United and the Sierra Club sponsored entries into the permit lottery for non-hunters in the hopes of reducing the number of bears killed.

Bear Warriors United also says it is offering permit holders $2,000 if they agree in writing not to hunt.

A count conducted in 2015 found approximately 4,050 bears in Florida. FWC says studies show an annual growth rate ranging from 2.2% in the central Bear Management Unit, which includes much of our area, to 15.4% in the north BMU, including the Jacksonville area west to Suwannee and Hamilton counties.

Scientists are working on a new population study, but results will not be available until 2029.

To learn details about the bear hunt, including what bears can be killed, what weapons can be used, and where hunters can hunt, check out this story on ClickOrlando.com.