Lawsuit accuses Broadway Apple Store employees of racial discrimination
Apple is the target of a new lawsuit that claims employees of the company's Upper West Side store in New York City told two black men they were not welcome there.
Plaintiffs Brian Johnston, 34, and Nile Charles, 25, have accused Apple of discrimination after an incident they claim occurred on Dec. 9, 2010. Both Johnston and Charles went to the store at 1981 Broadway when the incident allegedly began with an Apple employee, said to be white and in his 50s.
The lawsuit notes that Charles and Johnston, who are black, went to the Broadway Apple store wearing "baggy jeans and large sweaters with hoods" to purchase headphones. It was around 3:20 p.m., they claim, that the Apple employee, about 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, confronted them.
The lawsuit alleges that the Apple employee approached the customers in an "intimidating fashion," invading their "personal space," and said to them, "You know the deal. You know the deal."
The employee allegedly told the plaintiffs that they must leave the store unless they planned to purchase something or see a Mac Specialist. Johnston and Charles claim that before they could respond, the Apple employee told them they were not welcome there because of their race.
"And before you say I'm racially discriminating against you, let me stop you. I am discriminating against you," the lawsuit claims the employee said. "I don't want 'your kind' hanging out in the store."
Johnston and Charles say they were "shocked and humiliated" by the alleged incident. They reportedly used their cell phones to record the confrontation when they say another Apple Store employee approached them.
"Now you have to go," one of the employees is claimed in the lawsuit to have said. "If you want to know why, it's because I said so. CONSIDER ME GOD. You have to go."
Johnston and Charles said they asked to speak to a manager, but the store's head of security ignored their request. They reportedly found a manager on their own, and made allegations of racial profiling.
"In order to further harass, degrade, humiliate, and discriminate against Plaintiffs, the manager asked Defendant's Head of Security to call 911," the complaint reads. "Defendant interfered with Plaintiffs right to purchase personal property because of their race."
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year in February in New York Supreme Court. The filing came to light this month after the case was moved to U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit accuses Apple of discrimination under both New York and federal civil rights laws. The plaintiffs seek punitive damages, and originally argued that those damages exceed the jurisdictional amounts of all lower courts. They assert they are entitled to damages due to ongoing "emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, and other non-pecuniary losses."
The Upper West Side store where the incident allegedly took place opened in late 2009. It features a unique curved glass roof and glass front.
Late last year, a separate lawsuit against Apple accused one of its retail stores in Orlando, Fla., of age discrimination. The plaintiff in that case, a man in his 60s, was an employee of the store who claims he was denied promotions because of his age.
Plaintiffs Brian Johnston, 34, and Nile Charles, 25, have accused Apple of discrimination after an incident they claim occurred on Dec. 9, 2010. Both Johnston and Charles went to the store at 1981 Broadway when the incident allegedly began with an Apple employee, said to be white and in his 50s.
The lawsuit notes that Charles and Johnston, who are black, went to the Broadway Apple store wearing "baggy jeans and large sweaters with hoods" to purchase headphones. It was around 3:20 p.m., they claim, that the Apple employee, about 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, confronted them.
The lawsuit alleges that the Apple employee approached the customers in an "intimidating fashion," invading their "personal space," and said to them, "You know the deal. You know the deal."
The employee allegedly told the plaintiffs that they must leave the store unless they planned to purchase something or see a Mac Specialist. Johnston and Charles claim that before they could respond, the Apple employee told them they were not welcome there because of their race.
"And before you say I'm racially discriminating against you, let me stop you. I am discriminating against you," the lawsuit claims the employee said. "I don't want 'your kind' hanging out in the store."
Johnston and Charles say they were "shocked and humiliated" by the alleged incident. They reportedly used their cell phones to record the confrontation when they say another Apple Store employee approached them.
"Now you have to go," one of the employees is claimed in the lawsuit to have said. "If you want to know why, it's because I said so. CONSIDER ME GOD. You have to go."
Johnston and Charles said they asked to speak to a manager, but the store's head of security ignored their request. They reportedly found a manager on their own, and made allegations of racial profiling.
"In order to further harass, degrade, humiliate, and discriminate against Plaintiffs, the manager asked Defendant's Head of Security to call 911," the complaint reads. "Defendant interfered with Plaintiffs right to purchase personal property because of their race."
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year in February in New York Supreme Court. The filing came to light this month after the case was moved to U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit accuses Apple of discrimination under both New York and federal civil rights laws. The plaintiffs seek punitive damages, and originally argued that those damages exceed the jurisdictional amounts of all lower courts. They assert they are entitled to damages due to ongoing "emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, and other non-pecuniary losses."
The Upper West Side store where the incident allegedly took place opened in late 2009. It features a unique curved glass roof and glass front.
Late last year, a separate lawsuit against Apple accused one of its retail stores in Orlando, Fla., of age discrimination. The plaintiff in that case, a man in his 60s, was an employee of the store who claims he was denied promotions because of his age.
Comments
Do you think they would have been tossed if they were wearing an Armani suit?
I got a strange feeling that this could be planned in order to file a lawsuit. After patent trolls now racist trolls?
"If you want to know why, it's because I said so. CONSIDER ME GOD...."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment
Walk like a thug, talk like a thug and dress like a thug, you can't complain about the reception you get.
Do you think they would have been tossed if they were wearing an Armani suit?
You mean there should be a dress code at Apple Stores? Maybe. Many upscale restaurants have dress codes.
"And before you say I'm racially discriminating against you, let me stop you. I am discriminating against you," the lawsuit claims the employee said. "I don't want 'your kind' hanging out in the store."
I read that to say: I am not racially discriminating against you, I am discriminating against you for other reasons - appearance and dress. Thats "your kind"
Should be easy enough to defend. Were there black americans in there at the time, without hoods, and were they discriminated against ( clearly not: this is a two person class action suit) . Were whites kicked out at other occasions if sporting certain attire at any time in the operation of this store. If so, forget it.
But this doesn't sound real to me. Nobody but either very dumb or very rich people would look for accessories like headphones at the Apple Store. The prices are just too high compared with Amazon, eBay, etc.
If Apple has african americans working in the store, especially in management, these folks are probably going to have a hard time winning the lawsuit. Even if the recording shows the employee acting in a clearly discriminating manner, Apple wouldn't be liable unless it adopted discriminatory policies. Then again, if the case makes it to a jury, who knows what will happen.
I used to work in a employment law firm where we defended companies accused of work place discrimination. Nine out of ten times such allegations were clearly fabricated. Unfortunately, the employers had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to defend such allegations. Another reason employers probably like doing business in places like China instead.
Walk like a thug, talk like a thug and dress like a thug, you can't complain about the reception you get.
Do you think they would have been tossed if they were wearing an Armani suit?
Steve Jobs will never approve of this. He's a Buddhist, and a vegetarian. He's the most humble person you will ever come across. He would never consider himself a God.
All involved employees of the Store should be fired.
Now, I wonder which one of you on AppleInsider is a racist?
I read that to say: I am not racially discriminating against you, I am discriminating against you for other reasons - appearance and dress. Thats "your kind"
Should be easy enough to defend. Were there black americans in there at the time, without hoods, and were they discriminated against ( clearly not: this is a two person class action suit) . Were whites kicked out at other occasions if sporting certain attire at any time in the operation of this store. If so, forget it.
Businesses reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. There's a lot of details missing in this article, and a lot of assumptions being made. While racism is certainly alive in America, if I saw a couple of seedy-looking punks (regardless of race) enter my store, they would at the minimum, would be closely monitored. What behavior were they displaying? Where they talking loud and using foul, abusive language on every other word? Where they behaving like the angels their lawyer is making them out to be?
I highly doubt these 2 people were innocently shopping for headphones.
And what do you base your opinion on ..... the fact that they're black? .... or wear baggy pants? You may be right .... you may be wrong ..... as for me, I'll hold judgement until more details come forth. There are always two sides to every story. cheers.
I think there is more data that needs to come out for this story. Just judging from this article, this is a horrible, horrible thing. But are they known shoplifters around NYC? At other Apple retail locations? And some of the statements allegedly made (CONSIDER ME GOD!) seem a little too far fetched to take everything at face value. I'll wait until I see more information, but if this is all true, this is a bad, bad thing, and these employees need to be fired and sued individually.
There is nothing in the incident as described that suggests *racial* discrimination to me. Stores are allowed to discriminate as long as it doesn't get racial.
The fact that the guy is a 50+ white male is a red flag for sure, but the fact that these guys appeared to be dressed like (and perhaps acting like), booster artists is definitely a factor as well.
As with most things like this, it probably isn't worth arguing about without video. So much of the story is down to the attitudes and body language of those involved. The defendants could be two innocent guys in baggy clothes, or two suspicious looking a-holes. The white guy could be a decent fellow trying to do his job or a complete racist bastard. We just don't know.
It does sound like the very manager they found to hear their complaint (not the dude who thought he was god), is also the one who called security on them, so it's not like the Apple store employees were in any disagreement about these guys.
That being said, I've also had an Apple store employee (a manager in fact), freak out on me and force me to leave the store. Many emails and phone calls later the manager was disciplined from what I was told.
They sound like two trouble makers imo but they could still be right. It depends if colored people dress more like bussiness man get the same treatment. It could be look/wealth related more than race related.
I got a strange feeling that this could be planned in order to file a lawsuit. After patent trolls now racist trolls?
Colored people? Damn, did I just step back 50 years or something?
No, I don't agree with you. This is truly disgusting! It appalls me that in this age and time, there's still racial discrimination. And no, there's no dress code at any Apple Store, unlike IBM. You can dress in any comfortable way you want. And you can speak with any accent. Prejudice is not an excuse for discrimination.
Steve Jobs will never approve of this. He's a Buddhist, and a vegetarian. He's the most humble person you will ever come across. He would never consider himself a God.
All involved employees of the Store should be fired.
Now, I wonder which one of you on AppleInsider is a racist?
... and you base all of your opinion on one news article on a rumours site.... hmmmmm...
"Kill them, kill them all."
And when people say "THUG" and don't preface it with "UNION" - well we know what you really mean.