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More than 900 Starbucks locations in Florida engaged in hiring discrimination

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Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit against giant coffee shop retailer Starbucks, claiming the company is engaging in “race-based quotas” in hiring employees.

The civil legal action against Starbucks was filed in the 10th Judicial Circuit Court in Highlands County. The 21-page lawsuit doesn’t single out one particular incident or an individual. But it points to a series of practices Starbucks has engaged in the past five years while taking part “in a pattern or practice of discrimination.”

The filing said Starbucks established racial quotas for hiring, paid employees different wages because of their race, tied compensation to race-based mentorship programs “only to a person of certain favored races,” and excluded “people of disfavored races” from many of those programs.

While many of the Starbucks diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs were aimed at including underrepresented minorities, the lawsuit said that still excludes others. “All racial discrimination, even for supposedly benign purposes, is invidious and unlawful,” according to the court document.

In a recorded video statement, Uthmeier said the actions by Starbucks are ironically going against what the company wanted to accomplish.

“Starbucks made DEI more than a slogan. They turned it into a mandatory hiring and promotion system based upon race. The coffee empire set numerical racial targets for their workforce and they tied executive bonuses to those targets,” Uthmeier said.

“That is brazen discrimination and it is against the law. DEI can never be an excuse to violate someone’s civil rights. Every worker in our state deserves to be hired on merit, qualifications and character, not race. Florida law protects that principle and we will enforce it.”

The lawsuit is challenging the hiring practices at 934 Starbucks stores in Florida. That’s the third-most Starbucks locations in any state.

The lawsuit asks the court to implement an injunction to stop the hiring practices and seeks civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation of several Florida statutes, particularly the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 that prohibits employers from hiring based on racial criteria and other stipulations. The suit claims that “reverse discrimination” against a nonminority group is still discrimination.

Uthmeier’s Office is encouraging anyone who worked at Starbucks and believes they were discriminated against to file an online complaint.



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National endorsements pour in for Pia Dandiya as she takes on Brian Mast

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A Democrat hoping to flip Florida’s 21st Congressional District is trumpeting endorsements from a former United States Secretary of Education and two sitting members of Congress.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Congressman Ro Khanna, and Congresswoman Annie Kuster are all on board with Pia Dandiya as she works to unseat Brian Mast.

Duncan, a Barack Obama appointee, notes that Dandiya is “a true leader shaped by her service as a teacher, principal, and policy maker” and “the only former school principal across the country running for Congress.”

“Pia has spent her career in public education fighting for students who are too often overlooked, and she brings a true understanding of what works to improve outcomes for schools and families,” Duncan adds.

Khanna, a California Democrat who is quickly getting a national reputation for new-school pragmatism, says Dandiya “understands what working families truly need: good jobs, affordable childcare, strong schools, and a chance to build a secure future.”

“With experience as a teacher, high school principal, and tech-innovation leader — and a deep commitment to defending Social Security, Medicare, and our rights — Pia will put people over politics and fight for economic freedom,” Khanna adds.

“Pia is uniquely positioned to serve this district, with deep roots in this community and impressive experience in DC as a White House Fellow. Pia has the right message for this moment, has created the change we want to see in communities, and the unique ability to connect with voters across different walks of life,” Kuster adds.

Dandiya, who managed Apple strategic initiatives in the Southeast before launching her campaign, has already raised more than $783,000 from more than 2,500 donors, including contributors from every city in Florida’s 21st Congressional District and from 48 states.

While Dandiya faces primary opposition, she is the only candidate to report six-figures worth of fundraising to date, and she is seeing meaningful support from inside and outside the state, as the latest endorsements suggest.

Mast is not among the GOP incumbents currently targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but his district has been a battleground in the past. He first won office in 2016, flipping a district previously represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy.

Redistricting in 2022 made the district a safer Republican seat. Nearly 58% of voters in the district in November voted for Donald Trump for President, according to MCI Maps. Mast won 62% of the vote in his own re-election bid.



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Rob Long reveals legislative priorities

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He’s wasting no time in tackling issues that matter to his constituents.

Rep.-Elect Rob Long is hitting the ground running after a resounding 28-point win in the HD 90 Special Election.

The Delray Beach Democrat is carrying a raft of priorities for his constituents, including money for Delray’s historic American Legion Post 188C and for coral research and coastal resilience at The Reef Institute.

And colleagues are helping him get started.

Rep. Debra Tendrich introduced the money for the Legion Post, which Long says has been “a cornerstone of Delray’s Black history and civic life” since 1947.

He also says he will champion a PFAS reform package to reduce Floridians’ exposure to forever chemicals, a bill filed by Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, a Democrat from Parkland.

Though his late election normally would stop him from filing legislation for the 2026 Session, he worked with colleagues to get these priorities in play and he will assume sponsorship once he’s officially in the House.

“I’m grateful to the members who partnered with me on these bills to ensure the work could begin before I’m sworn in, and I’m proud to carry them forward on behalf of District 90. These priorities reflect the values of our community — strengthening environmental protections, supporting veterans, preserving local history, and investing in the organizations that serve our region,” Long said.



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Board of Engineers will welcome new gubernatorial appointees

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The panel is back to full strength.

Vacancies are being filled on the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, even as some other current members are being reappointed.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has selected Christopher Forehan and Richard Temple to fill open positions on the panel for Engineering and Structural Engineering.

Forehan is the President of Panhandle Engineering, a member of the Florida Engineering Society, and a previous member of the Florida State University Panama City Development Board.

Temple, the Regional Director of Walter P. Moore, is a member of the American Concrete Institute and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida Board of Directors and a previous President of the Florida Structural Engineers Association.

Dylan Albergo, Jeb Mulock, and Brock Shrader are also being reappointed to the panel.

“The Florida Board of Professional Engineers is established under Chapter 471, Florida Statutes, Engineering, and is composed of 11 members, nine of whom are licensed Professional Engineers representing multiple disciplines and two laypersons who are not and never have been engineers or members of any closely related profession or occupation. All members are appointed by the governor for terms of four years each,” notes the page for the organization that regulates Florida’s 46,000 engineers.



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