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Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump's anti-trans order clashes with New York law
— This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a non-profit news publication investigating how power works in New York state. Sign up for their newsletter at 'None of us asked to be born a certain way,' Kelly Metzgar, a transgender woman and executive director of the Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance in Saranac Lake, told New York Focus. 'Tall, short, red hair, blond hair — this is how we were created.' Metzgar's brain and body used to feel unbalanced, driving her to the point of contemplating suicide. She says gender-affirming care saved her life. 'It made such a difference,' she said, providing her 'with a sense of wholeness.' Gender-affirming care helps align a person's body with their gender identity. Treatment differs from person to person but can include medical, psychological, social, and legal support. Both cisgender people — those whose gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth — and transgender people receive and benefit from gender-affirming care. If they can access it. GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE Immediately upon retaking the Oval Office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to withhold funding from health care entities that provide gender-affirming medical care to people under 19. In the order, Trump described the care Metzgar credits with saving her life as 'mutilation' and a 'horrifying tragedy.' Trump's order sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community. Some healthcare providers — scared of losing their funding and confused about their legal obligations — stopped treating transgender youth. Hayley Gorenberg, a civil rights lawyer and co-chair of the New York City Bar Association's LGBTQ+ Rights Committee, told New York Focus that Trump's order has 'no mooring in medical reality.' Private plaintiffs, public interest groups, and state attorneys general quickly filed lawsuits to invalidate Trump's order. Federal judges have blocked the Trump administration from freezing any funding while the lawsuits play out. Letitia James, New York's attorney general, has a long history of battling Trump. Now, she's committed to fighting his anti-trans agenda. James warned hospitals that denying gender-affirming care to transgender people is against New York law, regardless of the availability of federal funding. The state's Human Rights Law — amended during the first Trump administration after years of advocacy by LGBTQ+ New Yorkers — expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation in places of 'public accommodation.' SANCTUARY STATE Legal experts told New York Focus that even if the federal courts ultimately uphold Trump's order, the Human Rights Law still requires that health care providers supply the same treatment to transgender people as they do cisgender people — including gender-affirming care. But while New York's law is clear, advocates say, litigation is not a cure-all. Metzgar said she's optimistic that New York will remain a 'sanctuary state' for transgender people. 'Letitia James will fight back,' said Metzgar. 'That's what we're hanging our hats on.' Hilary Avallone is the LGBTQ+ program manager for acr Health's Q Center, which supports LGBTQ+ youth and their families across nine counties in Central New York, the North Country, and the Mohawk Valley. She told New York Focus that Trump's order had an immediate effect, making already hard-to-get care even tougher to access. 'You know there's only so many pediatric providers for hormone replacement therapy,' Avallone said. She said some providers asked the Q Center to remove its resource guide listing recommended gender-affirming care providers from its website. Some providers put holds on appointments, and some stopped taking new patients, she heard. Since James's warning, Avallone said, the trans youth she works with have continued to receive the care they need. Metzgar said she hasn't heard of any providers in her area denying gender-affirming care, for which she also credits James. Not all providers have been so compliant. NYU LANGONE The NYU Langone health system stopped providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth after Trump's order. On March 13, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, state Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and the 1199SEIU health care workers union sent a letter reminding NYU of James's warning and demanding the hospital resume its full suite of services for trans youth. They never got a response, Epstein told New York Focus. On Monday, hundreds of protestors marched on NYU Langone. The protestors carried some 10,000 letters demanding that the hospital resume its gender-affirming services, which Gonzalez says the hospital refused to accept. 'NYU must affirm their commitment to providing gender-affirming care to all patients who seek it, whether they be youth or adults, whether existing or new — in compliance with state law,' Gonzalez said in a statement. 'If we're going to beat fascism, we have to stand together.' NYU Langone declined to comment for this article. VARIETY OF TREATMENTS Gender-affirming care encompasses a variety of types of support — name and clothing changes, updating official documents, speech therapy, counseling, puberty blockers, and more. Medical interventions for transgender youth typically require the child's assent, parental consent, and approval by a mental health professional. Surgery is vanishingly rare for transgender youth. A Harvard study found that fewer than 0.01 percent of transgender and gender-divergent youth undergo gender-affirming surgery. Delaying or denying gender-affirming care can cause real harm to young people. Hormone therapy, for example, helps prevent permanent and distressing body changes. One study found that transgender and nonbinary youth who receive gender-affirming care are 73 percent less likely to have suicidal thoughts. Cisgender people benefit from hormone therapy and puberty blockers, too — to manage menopause symptoms, for example, or to treat early puberty. Denying care to transgender people while making it available to cisgender people is discrimination, Gorneberg said. 'And as the attorney general points out, that's illegal.' HUMAN RIGHTS LAW Enacted in 1945, New York's Human Rights Law guarantees everyone in the state 'equal opportunity to enjoy a full and productive life.' The law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, education, and places of 'public accommodation' — including hospitals and clinics. The state attorney general can investigate discrimination complaints and enforce the law. People experiencing discrimination can also sue on their own behalf or file a complaint with the state's Division of Human Rights. 'Being able to access the Division of Human Rights is really important,' said Susan Hazeldean, an associate dean at Brooklyn Law School — especially for people who don't have a lawyer. The Human Rights Law has long forbidden discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. In 2002, the state legislature expanded the law to cover sexual orientation — and in 2019, after a decades-long push by LGBTQ+ activists, to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Despite Trump's executive order, that protection still applies to New York-based providers of gender-affirming care. Katie Eyer, an anti-discrimination law scholar and professor at Rutgers Law School, noted that New York has some of the strongest protections in the country for transgender people — and that Trump can't unilaterally override them. 'It's right there,' she said. 'There's no debate.' But even when the law is clear, legal advocacy has its limits. A VERY GRAVE THREAT Litigating even straightforward discrimination cases takes resources and forces victims to wait for relief. and despite New York law, Trump's executive order may still have severe financial ramifications. Advocates are unsure how health care providers that comply with New York's Human Rights Law would make up for lost federal funding. 'It is a very grave threat,' said Hazeldean. 'Federal support for the provision of health care is vital.' Eyer said it's also unclear if insurance will continue to cover gender-affirming care for transgender people. Not all plans have to comply with New York's anti-discrimination laws. Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill that would require Medicaid to cover the costs of gender-affirming care, even if Trump succeeds in cutting off federal funding. Federal judges have blocked Trump from withholding funding from health care providers while lawsuits against the order proceed, indicating they believe the lawsuits will likely be successful. One judge wrote that Trump's order 'facially discriminates on the basis of transgender status' and 'does not survive constitutional scrutiny.' Ultimately, Trump's order could reach the United States Supreme Court. It's unclear how they would rule: Conservative justices hold a 6-3 majority on the court, but two of them have joined with liberal justices to hold that anti-trans discrimination is illegal, at least in the context of employment law. 'MY DEATH IS NOT A SURRENDER' Trump and his allies have threatened federal judges with impeachment if they rule against the president and stoked fears that the administration may openly defy court decisions. New York's protections have led many to view it as a 'safe haven' and 'sanctuary state' for transgender people. 'We've had a lot of folks coming from other states wanting to access care,' said Avallone. More may make the trip in the wake of Trump's order. But even a 'safe haven' can be a dark place. This February, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old Black transgender man from Minnesota, was found dead in a field in Canandaigua, a small city in New York's Ontario County. Nordquist was an animal lover who worked alongside his mother in a group home for people with disabilities. Before his death, police said, Nordquist was sexually assaulted and tortured for over a month. Seven people have been charged with his murder. Authorities have declined to charge the killing as a hate crime. In January, Elisa Rae Shupe, a transgender activist and retired army sergeant first class, hanged herself from the top of the Syracuse VA Medical Center parking garage, her body wrapped in a transgender pride flag. The VA's inpatient psychiatry unit had discharged Shupe the day after Trump's inauguration. (The Syracuse VA declined to comment for this story.) Shupe reportedly aimed her last words at the Trump administration and the United States writ large. 'My death is not a surrender,' reads a note attributed to Shupe. 'You cannot erase non-binary and transgender people because you give birth to more of us each day.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starbucks shreds ‘nonsensical' lawsuit by store manager who claimed he was discriminated against for being straight
Starbucks has fired back at a former store manager who sued the coffeehouse chain over his claim of having faced 'egregious' discrimination because he is straight. Christopher Thevanesan's lawsuit is 'nonsensical,' 'entirely without merit,' and 'devoid of any facts' to support his allegations, according to the company's motion to dismiss. In his January 28 suit, which was first reported by The Independent, Thevanesan described himself as a 'heterosexual, gender typical man,' and said higher-ups at the Rochester, New York Starbucks location where he worked treated him 'in a materially different manner' than employees who were 'not heterosexual and/or gender typical men.' But, while Thevanesan insisted he had suffered 'extreme and outrageous' persecution at the hands of gay team members, his suit does not lay out any 'specific instances of harassment,' Starbucks argues in its motion, which was filed last Friday. '[Thevanesan] fails to allege the time, place, or manner of even a single instance of supposed 'harassment,'' the motion says. In his lawsuit, Thevanesan accused Starbucks of neglecting to properly train the employees he supervised in how to properly deal with others. Starbucks says in its motion that this argument is 'nonsensical[,] since as the Store Manager, he would be responsible for training.' And, as far as Thevanesan's firing goes, which his suit says occurred 'because he is a heterosexual, gender typical man' — it in fact 'does not set forth any facts even remotely connecting his termination to his sex or sexual orientation,' the company's motion continues. 'Plaintiff's allegations read: 'I am a straight male. I believe my subordinates were gay. I was terminated. My termination must have been because I was a straight male,'' the motion asserts. 'These conclusory allegations are insufficient to state a claim in any forum.' Jacqueline Phipps Polito, the attorney representing Starbucks against Thevanesan, did not respond on Wednesday to a request for comment. According to Thevanesan's lawsuit, which was filed under New York State's Human Rights Law, he was 'a model employee who performed the essential functions of his employment in an exemplary fashion.' At the same time, Thevanesan argued, his LGBTQ+ underlings created a 'hostile' work environment for him due to his 'gender typicality and sexual orientation,' contending he was subsequently fired for complaining about it. Thevanesan's attorney, Neil Flynn, told The Independent earlier this month that his client's heterosexuality had been 'weaponized' against him. 'Management was indifferent to his complaints,' Flynn said, claiming gay Starbucks workers in the store and surrounding area were attempting to drive out their straight colleagues. Thevanesan was hired to manage Starbucks store #47825 in 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile. The employees who worked there 'were members of the LGBQT+ community,' Thevanesan's complaint states. It says he was fired in February 2022, and calls the reasons 'pretextual,' without providing additional details. Thevanesan's grievance is, in some ways, reminiscent of a high-profile suit brought by Marlean Ames, a straight Ohio woman who sued her employer, the state Department of Youth Services, arguing she was demoted and replaced by a gay man. After a decision against Ames by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, she took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court now rules in favor of Ames, it could open the door for others to sue on the basis of 'reverse discrimination.' However, Starbucks maintains in its motion to dismiss that Thevanesan's suit is 'entirely without merit, because, even assuming the allegations… are true, [the suit] contains nothing more than legal conclusions and a bare recitation of the elements of each claim, devoid of any facts supporting [his] claims.' 'At best, [Thevanesan] simply claims that he falls within a protected class (heterosexual, gender typical male), and therefore anything that [he] disagrees with that happened to occur at Starbucks, must be because of the same,' the motion states. 'The law does not allow a complaint to be based on such speculation and conclusory allegations without detailed factual support,' dubbing Thevanesan's suit 'woefully deficient.' 'Accordingly,' the motion concludes, 'the Court must dismiss the [suit] in its entirety.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Religious school recognizes LGBTQ student club after years of conflict
This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night. A notable legal battle involving LGBTQ college students and a religious school has come to an end. Yeshiva University, a Jewish college in New York, announced Thursday that it will recognize an LGBTQ student club and allow it to be run like other clubs on campus moving forward. The club, called Hareni, 'will operate in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University's senior rabbis,' the school's statement said, per The Associated Press. The name comes from a phrase that's recited before certain Jewish prayers. The phrase 'translates to 'I hereby undertake to fulfill the positive commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself,'' according to Forward. Yeshiva's unexpected announcement resolved a yearslong clash between school officials and LGBTQ students — and a lawsuit that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. The lawsuit began in April 2021, when students involved in what was then called the YU Pride Alliance sued Yeshiva, alleging that school leaders were violating the New York City Human Rights Law by refusing to treat their group like other student clubs. The law outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as I reported in September 2022. Campus leaders claimed Yeshiva University was eligible for a faith-based exemption to the Human Rights Law and argued that recognizing the club would force the school to violate its religious beliefs and harm similarly situated schools across the country. Yeshiva faced a setback at an early stage in the case when a trial court ruled that it likely didn't qualify for the religious exemption and needed to recognize YU Pride Alliance as the lawsuit played out. The ruling noted that the school confers many secular degrees and accepts non-Jewish students. Yeshiva officials rejected the idea that their school wasn't religious and appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. But the justices allowed it to stand, determining that school leaders had not yet exhausted their legal options in the lower courts. After the Supreme Court ruling, Yeshiva officials temporarily suspended all student clubs on campus. But then YU Pride Alliance offered to forgo court-ordered recognition so that other campus groups could operate as usual. Now, two and a half years later, the school has reached a settlement with the LGBTQ club. The exact terms of the agreement have not been made public, but students have confirmed that they will be free to host a variety of events on campus and choose their own adviser. 'The club confirmed the agreement and said it will enjoy the same privileges as other student organizations on campus. It plans to host charitable events, movie nights, panel discussions and career networking events and will publicly use 'LGBTQ+' on flyers and advertisements,' the AP reported. 'This agreement affirms that LGBTQ+ students at Yeshiva University are valued members of the community,' Schneur Friedman, a president of the group, told the AP. The first-of-its-kind case putting Utah's new religious freedom law to the test Pope Francis has left the hospital after 5 weeks. Here's what comes next Tension between Trump and the Supreme Court is ratcheting up The Serenity Prayer is a famous prayer that is best known for its use in Alcoholics Anonymous. The most popular version goes like this: 'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to tell the difference.' In a recent essay for The Conversation, Scott Paeth, a professor of religious studies at DePaul University, explained the prayer's backstory, noting that it was written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr for a worship service in the summer of 1943. But Niebuhr's original version used collective language instead of individual language and included a request not just for serenity, but also for grace. 'God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other,' he said. Paeth wrote that the original version fits Niebuhr's belief that, to change the world, we must work together. When a memory involving my childhood church pops into my head, it's about as likely to involve the church kitchen as the sanctuary. The kitchen was the site of some of my favorite events on the annual church calendar, from Wednesday night youth group dinners to the community barbecue in July. The church I grew up in still uses that kitchen, but kitchens are falling out of favor with many faith groups nationwide, according to Christianity Today. 'It's not part of the culture now, the church culture, where you have 20 women who come together and make a meal. Today we order Panera or Jimmy John's,' said Katie Eberth, an architect with Aspen Group, a leading firm in the field of church design, in the article. I have long been fascinated by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and his recent dissent in a death penalty case only increased my interest. Gorsuch argued the district court had inappropriately engaged in theological interpretation on the path toward rejecting a Buddhist inmate's religious freedom claim, according to Reason. Want to be happier? Try reading happiness books. Cognitive scientist Laurie Santos recently listed several of her favorites in an interview with The New Yorker. I'm in Miami this week for a Faith Angle Forum event. I'm excited to share what I learn in future newsletters.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fired Starbucks manager claims he faced ‘egregious' discrimination for being heterosexual
A longtime Starbucks manager is suing the coffeehouse chain for discrimination, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, accusing his bosses of ignoring the 'extreme and outrageous' harassment he claims he suffered on the job because he is straight. Christopher Thevanesan, a 'heterosexual, gender typical man' in Rochester, New York, claims supervisors at his location treated him 'in a materially different manner' than employees who were 'not heterosexual and/or gender typical men,' according to a lawsuit filed under New York State's Human Rights Law and obtained by The Independent. The suit, which was served on Starbucks in late February, describes the 47-year-old Thevanesan as 'a model employee who performed the essential functions of his employment in an exemplary fashion.' However, it contends, his LGBTQ+ coworkers created a 'hostile' work environment for Thevanesan due to his 'gender typicality and sexual orientation,' and higher-ups allegedly fired him when he complained. Reached by phone on Thursday, Thevanesan — a person of color who now works at a bank — said he was reluctant to comment before consulting with Neil Flynn, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on his behalf. In a subsequent call, Flynn told The Independent that he believes Thevansan's heterosexuality had been 'weaponized' against him. 'Management was indifferent to his complaints,' Flynn said, claiming Starbucks workers in the store and surrounding area were attempting to drive out their straight colleagues. Thevanesan has now 'moved on,' according to Flynn, asserting that the experience 'took a toll' on his client 'personally and professionally.' Messages seeking comment sent to a Starbucks spokesperson and the legal team defending the company against Thevanesan's suit went unanswered. Thevanesan's grievance in many ways mirrors a high-profile case brought by Marlean Ames, an Ohio woman who sued her employer, the state Department of Youth Services, arguing she was denied a promotion because she is heterosexual, after which she was demoted and replaced by a gay man. Following a decision in favor of the state agency by Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Ames took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court now rules with Ames, it could open the door for those from so-called majority backgrounds, such as straight, white individuals, to sue on the basis of 'reverse discrimination.' Ames has received support from America First Legal, the right-wing public interest group headed by Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump. On January 21, Trump's second day in office, he signed an executive order seeking to dismantle the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives meant to level the playing field for minority groups, calling such well-meaning equal rights practices 'illegal' and 'pernicious.' Last month, the State of Missouri sued Starbucks, claiming its DEI hiring practices were actually slowing down orders, an assertion the company called 'inaccurate.' Thevanesan began managing Starbucks store #47825 in 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile. The employees who worked at the store he oversaw 'were members of the LGBQT+ community,' says his complaint. Starbucks management, along with store staff, 'were aware of [Thevanesan's] gender typicality and sexual orientation' from the start, the complaint goes on. 'At all relevant times, [Thevanesan] was harassed by the staff due to his sex, sexual orientation and/or gender in the course of [his] employment.' the complaint states. Management had a duty to provide Thevanesan with 'a safe environment in which to do his job free of harassment,' according to the complaint. However, it claims, they 'breached that duty.' The complaint contends Thevanesan reported the alleged harassment to his superiors, but that they 'aided, abetted, tolerated, condoned and facilitated the harassment.' The harassment about Thevanesan's sexual preference 'was so frequent, pervasive, and severe that it altered [Thevanesan's] employment conditions and created a hostile work environment,' the complaint states. Thevanesan's complaint accuses upper management of 'negligently' failing to properly supervise the workers, thus exposing him to harassment 'so extreme and outrageous, as to be unacceptable in contemporary society.' In February 2022, Thevanesan was terminated for ginned-up, unspecified violations, according to the complaint, which calls them pretextual and 'intended to hide the real reason for doing so.' 'He was given several different conflicting reasons for why he was discharged,' Flynn told The Independent. 'We're in the course of discovery, so we're still trying to verify what their claims are.' In fact, the complaint argues, Thevanesan was let go 'because he is a heterosexual, gender typical man.' All told, Thevanesan says he sustained emotional, psychological, and economic damages, along with 'serious, permanent physical harm and emotional distress.' Thevanesan is now demanding compensatory, liquidated, punitive, and statutory damages, in an amount to be determined in court, plus attorneys' fees, from Starbucks and five of his former coworkers.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Fired Starbucks manager claims he faced ‘egregious' discrimination for being heterosexual
A longtime Starbucks manager is suing the coffeehouse chain for discrimination, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, accusing his bosses of ignoring the 'extreme and outrageous' harassment he claims he suffered on the job because he is straight. Christopher Thevanesan, a 'heterosexual, gender typical man' in Rochester, New York, claims supervisors at his location treated him 'in a materially different manner' than employees who were 'not heterosexual and/or gender typical men,' according to a lawsuit filed under New York State's Human Rights Law and obtained by The Independent. The suit, which was served on Starbucks in late February, describes the 47-year-old Thevanesan as 'a model employee who performed the essential functions of his employment in an exemplary fashion.' However, it contends, his LGBTQ+ coworkers created a 'hostile' work environment for Thevanesan due to his 'gender typicality and sexual orientation,' and higher-ups allegedly fired him when he complained. Reached by phone on Thursday, Thevanesan — a person of color who now works at a bank — said he was reluctant to comment before consulting with Neil Flynn, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on his behalf. In a subsequent call, Flynn told The Independent that he believes Thevansan's heterosexuality had been 'weaponized' against him. 'Management was indifferent to his complaints,' Flynn said, claiming Starbucks workers in the store and surrounding area were attempting to drive out their straight colleagues. Thevanesan has now 'moved on,' according to Flynn, asserting that the experience 'took a toll' on his client 'personally and professionally.' Messages seeking comment sent to a Starbucks spokesperson and the legal team defending the company against Thevanesan's suit went unanswered. Thevanesan's grievance in many ways mirrors a high-profile case brought by Marlean Ames, an Ohio woman who sued her employer, the state Department of Youth Services, arguing she was denied a promotion because she is heterosexual, after which she was demoted and replaced by a gay man. Following a decision in favor of the state agency by Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Ames took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court now rules with Ames, it could open the door for those from so-called majority backgrounds, such as straight, white individuals, to sue on the basis of 'reverse discrimination.' Ames has received support from America First Legal, the right-wing public interest group headed by Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump. On January 21, Trump's second day in office, he signed an executive order seeking to dismantle the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives meant to level the playing field for minority groups, calling such well-meaning equal rights practices 'illegal' and 'pernicious.' Last month, the State of Missouri sued Starbucks, claiming its DEI hiring practices were actually slowing down orders, an assertion the company called 'inaccurate.' Thevanesan began managing Starbucks store #47825 in 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile. The employees who worked at the store he oversaw 'were members of the LGBQT+ community,' says his complaint. Starbucks management, along with store staff, 'were aware of [Thevanesan's] gender typicality and sexual orientation' from the start, the complaint goes on. 'At all relevant times, [Thevanesan] was harassed by the staff due to his sex, sexual orientation and/or gender in the course of [his] employment.' the complaint states. Management had a duty to provide Thevanesan with 'a safe environment in which to do his job free of harassment,' according to the complaint. However, it claims, they 'breached that duty.' The complaint contends Thevanesan reported the alleged harassment to his superiors, but that they 'aided, abetted, tolerated, condoned and facilitated the harassment.' The harassment about Thevanesan's sexual preference 'was so frequent, pervasive, and severe that it altered [Thevanesan's] employment conditions and created a hostile work environment,' the complaint states. Thevanesan's complaint accuses upper management of 'negligently' failing to properly supervise the workers, thus exposing him to harassment 'so extreme and outrageous, as to be unacceptable in contemporary society.' In February 2022, Thevanesan was terminated for ginned-up, unspecified violations, according to the complaint, which calls them pretextual and 'intended to hide the real reason for doing so.' 'He was given several different conflicting reasons for why he was discharged,' Flynn told The Independent. 'We're in the course of discovery, so we're still trying to verify what their claims are.' In fact, the complaint argues, Thevanesan was let go 'because he is a heterosexual, gender typical man.' All told, Thevanesan says he sustained emotional, psychological, and economic damages, along with 'serious, permanent physical harm and emotional distress.' Thevanesan is now demanding compensatory, liquidated, punitive, and statutory damages, in an amount to be determined in court, plus attorneys' fees, from Starbucks and five of his former coworkers.
