Florida
Florida attorney general says state will investigate Starbucks for DEI practices
DeSantis holds news conference in Stuart, Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis was joined by Attorney General Ashley Moody for a news conference in Stuart, Florida, Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
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.
Over the past few years, Republican lawmakers across the country have sought to dismantle DEI programs in higher education and in the corporate world. Since last year, some 85 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 states, with 13 becoming law, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Conservative groups argue that the initiatives are discriminatory to those not benefitting from them, while supporters say programs are tackling systemic inequality.
More: Trump tried to crush the ‘DEI revolution.’ Here’s how he might finish the job.
DEI under siege: Why more businesses are being accused of ‘reverse discrimination’
Starbucks has a DEI page on its website
In the complaint, Moody accused the company of having policies that “appear on their face to discriminate on the basis of race.”
She pointed to a portion of Starbucks’ website that mentioned the company’s “annual inclusion and diversity goals of achieving BIPOC representation of at least 30 percent at all corporate levels and at least 40 percent of all retail and manufacturing roles by 2025.”
She also brought up how executive bonuses were tied to DEI goals, which was also mentioned.
Starbucks promotes on a separate webpage a commitment to diversity and inclusion, saying it has anti-bias curriculum, pay equity and that it was working to “enhance our efforts in reaching a broader pool of candidates and reaching talent that brings new perspectives and experiences to improve our business and workplace.”
But the company’s investors earlier this year in a non-binding vote approved a plan to drop executive bonuses correlated with DEI goals.
Meantime, a federal appeals court recently OK’d a block on a key provision of Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act.”
That provision restricted businesses’ diversity practices and trainings, blocking concepts that could make employees feel “personal responsibility” for actions committed in the past — such as discriminatory ones — by someone of the “same race, color, sex or national origin.”
More: Florida Gov. DeSantis hosts Sean Hannity’s radio show, warns of threat from the left
Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY
Florida
Florida’s political sphere reacts to Nicolas Maduro’s capture as former Venezuelan president awaits court appearance
Now that the United States has captured Nicolas Maduro and intends to prosecute him and members of his family, CBS News Miami’s Jim DeFede brings us the latest developments and the fallout following the Saturday morning strikes.
Guests: U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz/ (D) FL District 25
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins/(R) Florida
Ambassador Frank Mora/Former U.S. Ambassador to OAS
Raul Stolk/Expert on Latin America
Jon May/Represented Manuel Noriega
Florida
Venezuela airspace restrictions leave travelers stranded in South Florida
Florida
Florida State football: South Alabama DB Nehemiah Chandler commits, will transfer to FSU
Chandler’s bio from usajaguars.com:
At Georgia Tech: Saw action in one game during his freshman season … used the season as a redshirt year.
High School: Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN … First-team all-district honoree … Versatile athlete played cornerback, wide receiver and quarterback over the course of his prep career … Four-year letterwinner earned one letter apiece at four different high schools … Began high school at Westside H.S. in Jacksonville, Fla. as a freshman (2020), then moving to the Tallahassee area, where he attended Godby H.S. as a (2021) and Munroe H.S. (2022) as a junior before returning to Jacksonville to attend Wakulla H.S. as a senior (2023) … Helped lead Wakulla to an undefeated regular season and berth in the Florida 2S state playoffs as a senior in ‘23 … Coached at Wakulla by Barry Klees … Also played basketball … Honor roll student.
-
World1 week agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
Business1 week agoGoogle is at last letting users swap out embarrassing Gmail addresses without losing their data
-
Southeast1 week agoTwo attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them
-
Politics1 week agoMost shocking examples of Chinese espionage uncovered by the US this year: ‘Just the tip of the iceberg’
-
News1 week agoRoads could remain slick, icy Saturday morning in Philadelphia area, tracking another storm on the way
-
World1 week agoPodcast: The 2025 EU-US relationship explained simply
-
News1 week agoMarijuana rescheduling would bring some immediate changes, but others will take time