The eponymous founder of a successful chain of coffee shops denigrated and mocked Black employees, paid them thousands less than their white colleagues, and in one instance, fired an assistant manager for no reason other than the color of her skin, the company’s former human resources director alleges in a new lawsuit.
Jessica Day, the onetime VP of People at Gregorys Coffee, contends she witnessed numerous racist outbursts by CEO Gregory Zamfotis, and claims she warned the 43-year-old father of three that he was going to eventually land himself in serious legal trouble. But when he ignored Day’s advice, her complaint says she had no choice but to resign, telling Zamfotis, “point blank, in writing,” that she was leaving because of the “overt bias, favoritism and discrimination within the organization as a direct result of you, your conduct, your words, and your actions.”
