Canadian mom fighting cancer sues Starbucks for alleged wrongful termination
An Alberta mother is suing Starbucks Canada after she says she was fired for having cancer symptoms that were mistaken for COVID-19.
Lisa Pedersen is a former shift supervisor at the multibillion-dollar coffee chain. She alleges that Starbucks wrongfully terminated her for violating COVID-19 policies and food safety standards.
A wrongful termination is when an employee is fired by their employer but not given reasonable notice.
The single mother of three says she’s lost both a life insurance policy and a job that gave her flexibility to care for her disabled son — all while battling a terminal form of blood cancer.
“Starbucks needs to make the right decision and stand by its position that it is a conscientious employer that takes care of its partners,” said Aaron Levitin, an associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and Pedersen’s lawyer, in a statement.
A Starbucks spokesperson told Daily Hive in an email statement that it is aware of the lawsuit.
“We have no further information to share at this time as we are unable to discuss private employment or active ligation matters,” stated the spokesperson.
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What led to Starbucks firing her
Pedersen began working at a Starbucks on Stonegate Drive in Airdrie, Alberta, in August 2017.
According to the lawsuit, she was a star employee, earning countless positive performance reviews and a “Partner of the Quarter” award.
So much so that it claims Pedersen’s manager told her that she was instrumental in keeping two additional Starbucks locations in operation during staffing shortages in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I loved working for Starbucks. It was my dream job. It allowed me to take care of my family both financially and medically,” said Pedersen in a statement. “Every customer I served enabled me to create stronger relationships within my community.”
The lawsuit states that Starbucks provided her with a flexible work schedule that let her take care of her son, Gage, who suffers from global developmental delay and vocal cord paralysis. He also requires the use of leg braces and a wheelchair.
But this all changed in 2021.
In April of that year, the lawsuit says Pedersen told her manager she felt unwell. Despite this, it claims that her manager required her to continue working.
Pedersen took a COVID-19 test through Alberta Health just to be safe. Even though she tested negative for the virus, the lawsuit claims Starbucks fired her without cause in May. That means she was let go, but not for significant workplace misconduct.
“After I was fired, I reached out to Starbucks’ human resources department to appeal the decision,” said Pedersen. “I was told the company was firing employees who worked sick but that my appeal would be investigated.”
The cancer diagnosis
Shortly after Pedersen was fired, she had bloodwork done that determined she had myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN), a rare and incurable type of blood cancer that reduces her life expectancy.
MPN produces symptoms similar to the ones she experienced before she was fired.
Following her diagnosis, Pedersen emailed Starbucks to inform them that the symptoms that led to her termination were tied to blood cancer rather than COVID-19. According to the lawsuit, she did not receive a response from the company.
“I had a life insurance policy through Starbucks,” said Pedersen. “I’ve lost that now, and I can’t get a new policy through any other insurance companies because you have to be cancer-free for five years, and my type of cancer, there is no cure.”
According to Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, if Pedersen had received proper notice before she was fired, she could have converted her life insurance policy with Starbucks to an individual one.
“The company I once loved left my family in a terrible position for our future. It feels like they punished me for having cancer,” she said. “The plans I had in place to take care of my children if something happened to me have been shattered.”
“What Lisa has experienced is truly heartbreaking. She was unfairly reprimanded by Starbucks over symptoms believed to be COVID-19-related when they were actually related to blood cancer,” added Levitin.
“She deserves to be spending quality time with loved ones and focusing on her health. Instead, she has to take legal action against an employer she genuinely respected to secure the financial support that she desperately needs.”
Daily Hive has reached out to Starbucks Canada for comment.
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