lawsuit ['lɔːsjuːt] 

n. 诉讼

图片来源：视觉中国

 

A former regional manager for Starbucks filed a lawsuit against the coffee giant, arguing that she was fired from her position because she is white following the arrests of two black men in a Philadelphia store last year.
星巴克的一位前大区经理对这家咖啡巨头提起诉讼，她表示，去年在费城的一家星巴克门店里两名黑人男子被逮捕，而之后因为她是白人所以她被解雇了。

According to a lawsuit obtained by CBS3, Shannon Phillips claims she was unjustly terminated less than a month after the men were arrested in April 2018 for sitting in a Starbucks without making a purchase. 
CBS3（哥伦比亚广播公司第三频道）获得的一份诉讼文件显示，2018年4月两名男子因坐在星巴克里却不点单而被捕，之后不到一个月，香农·菲利普斯就被不公正地解雇了。

A Starbucks manager reportedly called police alleging that the young men were trespassing and refused to leave the establishment. 
据报道，星巴克的一位经理打电话给警方，称这两名年轻男子非法侵入星巴克，并拒绝离开。

The men, however, said they were there for a business meeting and were waiting for a third person. 
然而，这两名男子表示，他们是来进行业务洽谈的，当时正在等待第三人。

Nevertheless, they were escorted out of the store in handcuffs and video footage of the incident triggered a firestorm of controversy from critics who claimed the African American men were targeted because of their race.
尽管如此，他们还是被戴上了手铐押送出星巴克，而该事件的视频片段引发了激烈争议，反对者称，这两位非裔美国人因为种族而成为攻击对象。

In response to the incident, Starbucks dropped charges against the men, released a public apology, and closed its more than 8,000 locations so that employees could receive racial sensitivity training.
针对这一事件，星巴克撤销了对两名男子的指控，并公开道歉，还关闭了8000多家门店来对员工进行种族敏感性培训。

Weeks later, Phillips says she was mandated by superiors to suspend a white Starbucks manager who had no involvement with the incident or the store where arrests took place. She objected and was then fired the next day so that the company would appear like it was trying to rectify the situation.
菲利普斯称，几周之后，她的上级命令她开除一名白人经理，而这名经理与这起事件无关，也与发生逮捕事件的那家星巴克门店无关。她提出了反对意见，第二天就被解雇了，这样一来，星巴克看起来就像是在努力整顿这种状况。

Her bosses told her that nonwhite employees at the store whose manager they wanted her to suspend had been paid less than white employees. Phillips objected, pointing out that store managers have nothing to do with determining salaries, which are set by a different division of the company, according to the lawsuit.
她的经理告诉她，他们想让她开除的那位经理所在的星巴克门店，非白人员工的工资比白人员工的低。诉讼文件称，菲利普斯提出了反对意见，并指出门店经理与工资决议无关，这是由星巴克的另一个部门决定的。

Phillips claims in the suit that she regularly “received positive performance evaluations and related merit driven bonuses and salary increases.” She says she would still have her job if she were not white.
菲利普斯在诉讼中称，她经常“得到积极性绩效评估及奖金和工资上涨带来的相关荣誉”。她表示，如果她不是白人，她不会被解雇。

 

今日词汇

lawsuit ['lɔːsjuːt] 

n. 诉讼

 

to bring a lawsuit
提起诉讼

 

They threatened him with a lawsuit.  
他们以诉讼威逼他。