The favored hip Gregorys Espresso chain has routinely discriminated towards black employees and guarded male workers accused of sexual harassment, in response to a bombshell new lawsuit.
Gregorys’ proprietor, Gregory Zamfotis, overtly displayed a bias for white and male workers and a disdain for black girls who labored on the stylish model he based in Manhattan in 2005 and now boasts almost 50 areas nationwide, says the go well with filed by the corporate’s feminine former human-resources vp.
Jessica Day started working at Gregorys Espresso because the veep of HR in 2022 and claims in court docket papers that she was “confronted again and again with blatant violations of discrimination and associated legal guidelines.”
The corporate’s proprietor “was not solely conscious of this conduct however condoned and infrequently directed it,” her go well with says.
Zamfotis didn’t reply to Publish requests for remark.
In 2023, the Massive Apple-based enterprise paid $200,000 to 200 of its baristas to settle a class-action go well with over claims the chain denied them time beyond regulation pay.
In Day’s go well with, she alleges that Zamfotis as soon as tried to fireside a black employee as she appeared to verify her return from a authorized go away of absence, with him claiming she was a “unhealthy” worker.
Day pushed him for examples of the employee’s efficiency points — including that the lady’s supervisor “described her as ‘superb’” — however all Zamfotis “may muster was that he didn’t assume she smiled sufficient,” the go well with claims.
The one black girl in company management on the chain additionally discovered herself going through Zamfotis’s ire when she took medical go away, the paperwork allege.
Zamfotis “turned fixated on her absence,” Day’s go well with claims.
“Zamfotis even wished to make sure that the worker wouldn’t obtain any compensation whereas she was on go away, even though she was entitled to make use of paid go away,” in response to the lawsuit.
The go well with additionally detailed a gathering the place Zamfotis allegedly went on a “tirade” about one other black feminine employee, “incensed that she had been employed as a result of she was lacking a tooth.
“He stood up within the assembly and engaged in an offensive caricature of ‘black’ habits,” the go well with says.
In one other occasion of shameful antics, when a feminine employee at a retailer complained a few “hostile” male supervisor, Zamfotis instructed Day he had carried out his “personal investigation” — after which ordered the lady to be fired, the go well with says.
Zamfotis additionally demanded {that a} new rent — a “white, male barista” — be paid a wage of $75,000, whereas the black feminine retailer supervisor was paid “$20,000 lower than the white, male barista Zamfotis favored,” the go well with alleges.
Day mentioned she confronted Zamfotis in December 2023 about his “illegal actions,” saying they have been “textual content guide examples of what’s towards the regulation.
“You’re going to get the s— sued out you [sic],” the go well with claims she mentioned.
After Zamfotis iced out Day, refusing to speak along with her over her protests, she submitted her resignation, the court docket paperwork say.
“We acknowledge that when a person takes authorized motion towards an employer, it requires an excessive amount of grit and braveness,” Day’s lawyer, Seth Rafkin, mentioned in an announcement. “Our shopper and our agency are hopeful that this case will deal with not solely her claims but in addition assist others coping with comparable circumstances.”
Zamfotis began the hipster espresso store in 2005 with a “kick begin” from his restaurateur father, who ran a number of fast-food joints within the space through the years, he instructed greenwichmoms.com.
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