Gay Starbucks Worker’s Harassment Suit Sent Back to State Court

Starbucks Corp. must face a gay employee’s claims that it failed to prevent or stop his harassment by “homeless patrons” in state court, not federal court, the Central District of California ruled.

Dexter Johnson’s lawsuit under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act started out in Los Angeles Superior Court before the coffee chain removed it to federal court. According to Johnson, homeless citizens who patronized his West Hills store began harassing him when he called the police on one man who occupied the restroom for an “extended amount of time.”

The man’s female companion, who knew Johnson to be gay, ...