Woman fired from Starbucks for being late for work

Last updated on September 26th, 2023 at 06:53 am

US – Jocelyn Chuquillanqui was fired last month. She worked at Starbucks for almost seven years.

It all started this winter when the 28-year-old tried to rally her colleagues in New York to join a union, unhappy with the company’s stance on sick leave during the pandemic. She was waiting for a decision.

After that, she said, her boss began punishing her for transgressions that others would forgive, such as being a few minutes late for her 5:30 am shift.

When she lost her store key in July, it proved to be the last straw, though she reported it to her manager right away. As a result, the key was found inside the store.

In her breakup notice, Starbucks cited a pattern of tardiness and a key incident.

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“It was definitely some type of retaliation. I’ve never seen anyone be fired for being under five minutes late,” says Joselyn, who has worked at Starbucks since 2015 and was a shift supervisor.

Starbucks, which owns nearly 9,000 stores in the US and licenses thousands more, has denied retaliation. The firm says it respects workers’ right to organize and is closing stores based on safety performance.

It is worth noting that a similar incident recently occurred in Pittsburgh. A Starbucks worker said she was allegedly fired for being two minutes late for her shift, suggesting the reason was covered up. She announced this on Twitter and her post got 120,000 likes.

Shea said on her GoFundMe page that she was a shift supervisor and liked by her peers before she was abruptly fired.

“I know everyone is struggling, but this unexpected event has truly thrown off my financial stability,” she said. “It may affect my ability to access medical care that I need for my transition. I also have a cat that I am responsible for, in addition to bills we all have, such as rent, utilities, and groceries.”

Starbucks told Newsweek on Monday that while Shea’s Pittsburger had made attempts to unionize in the past, those efforts were unsuccessful and her firing was not due to unionization.