Miss-Delectable
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http://www.canada.com/topics/news/n...=19cc667d-392c-4bfc-ac91-e78af3ad9254&k=55107
The B.C. human rights tribunal has agreed to hear the case of a deaf Starbucks barista who claims the coffee giant discriminated against her by failing to provide her with a sign-language interpreter for staff meetings and performance evaluations.
Barbara Burdick, 39, who has been completely deaf since birth, got a job with the Starbucks at Vancouver's Children's Hospital in January 2005.
In an interview Wednesday, Burdick's mother, Diane Burdick, said her daughter, who has a computer science degree, reads lips and is able to understand simple orders from customers.
''A 'tall, fat-free latte' would be OK,'' she said.
Lip-reading isn't sufficient, however, for the complex orders for which Starbucks customers are famous like a grande decaf extra-hot no-foam caramel macchiato.
''Then she would hand them a piece of paper,'' Diane Burdick said.
In her complaint to the tribunal, Barbara Burdick said Starbucks refused to provide her with a sign-language interpreter either for her first performance review, or to help her attend an annual staff meeting.
In its response to Burdick's complaint, Starbucks said it tried to provide an interpreter for the staff meeting, but was unable to (something Burdick disputes).
And Starbucks said the lack of an interpreter at Burdick's performance evaluation had no negative impact since she received a positive assessment and a raise.
The company also noted that in Burdick's first five months of employment it provided her with an interpreter on five separate occasions for a total of 20 hours.
Starbucks asked that Burdick's complaint be dismissed on the basis it had no hope of succeeding.
But, in a preliminary ruling released Wednesday, the tribunal agreed to hear the case.
A hearing to determine the merits of Burdick's case will be held in January.
Burdick was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
But her mother said, because Barbara can read lips, many people mistakenly think she never needs an interpreter.
"'People assume that she understands everything they're saying,'' she said. ''(But) when you read lips, you don't read every word that is spoken it's one in four words So you (only) get the gist of the conversation.''
Burdick's mother said her daughter transferred to a Starbucks outlet at a shopping mall a few months ago and, this week, went on stress leave.
No one was available from Starbucks Wednesday to comment on the case.
The B.C. human rights tribunal has agreed to hear the case of a deaf Starbucks barista who claims the coffee giant discriminated against her by failing to provide her with a sign-language interpreter for staff meetings and performance evaluations.
Barbara Burdick, 39, who has been completely deaf since birth, got a job with the Starbucks at Vancouver's Children's Hospital in January 2005.
In an interview Wednesday, Burdick's mother, Diane Burdick, said her daughter, who has a computer science degree, reads lips and is able to understand simple orders from customers.
''A 'tall, fat-free latte' would be OK,'' she said.
Lip-reading isn't sufficient, however, for the complex orders for which Starbucks customers are famous like a grande decaf extra-hot no-foam caramel macchiato.
''Then she would hand them a piece of paper,'' Diane Burdick said.
In her complaint to the tribunal, Barbara Burdick said Starbucks refused to provide her with a sign-language interpreter either for her first performance review, or to help her attend an annual staff meeting.
In its response to Burdick's complaint, Starbucks said it tried to provide an interpreter for the staff meeting, but was unable to (something Burdick disputes).
And Starbucks said the lack of an interpreter at Burdick's performance evaluation had no negative impact since she received a positive assessment and a raise.
The company also noted that in Burdick's first five months of employment it provided her with an interpreter on five separate occasions for a total of 20 hours.
Starbucks asked that Burdick's complaint be dismissed on the basis it had no hope of succeeding.
But, in a preliminary ruling released Wednesday, the tribunal agreed to hear the case.
A hearing to determine the merits of Burdick's case will be held in January.
Burdick was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
But her mother said, because Barbara can read lips, many people mistakenly think she never needs an interpreter.
"'People assume that she understands everything they're saying,'' she said. ''(But) when you read lips, you don't read every word that is spoken it's one in four words So you (only) get the gist of the conversation.''
Burdick's mother said her daughter transferred to a Starbucks outlet at a shopping mall a few months ago and, this week, went on stress leave.
No one was available from Starbucks Wednesday to comment on the case.