The popular hip Gregorys Coffee chain has routinely discriminated against black workers and protected male employees accused of sexual harassment, according to a bombshell new lawsuit.
Gregorysâ owner, Gregory Zamfotis, openly displayed a bias for white and male employees and a disdain for black women who worked at the trendy brand he founded in Manhattan in 2005 and now boasts nearly 50 locations nationwide, says the suit filed by the companyâs female former human-resources vice president.
Jessica Day began working at Gregorys Coffee as the veep of HR in 2022 and claims in court papers that she was âconfronted time and again with blatant violations of discrimination and related laws.â
The companyâs owner âwas not only aware of this conduct but condoned and often directed it,â her suit says.
Zamfotis did not reply to Post requests for comment.
In 2023, the Big Apple-based business paid $200,000 to 200 of its baristas to settle a class-action suit over claims the chain denied them overtime pay.
In Dayâs suit, she alleges that Zamfotis once tried to fire a black worker as she looked to confirm her return from a legal leave of absence, with him claiming she was a âbadâ employee.Â
Day pushed him for examples of the workerâs performance issues â adding that the womanâs manager âdescribed her as âamazingââ â but all Zamfotis âcould muster was that he did not think she smiled enough,â the suit claims.
The only black woman in corporate leadership at the chain also found herself facing Zamfotisâs ire when she took medical leave, the documents allege.
Zamfotis âbecame fixated on her absence,â Dayâs suit claims.
âZamfotis even wanted to ensure that the employee would not receive any compensation while she was on leave, despite the fact that she was entitled to use paid leave,â according to the lawsuit.Â
The suit also detailed a meeting where Zamfotis allegedly went on a âtiradeâ about another black female worker, âincensed that she had been hired because she was missing a tooth.
âHe stood up in the meeting and engaged in an offensive caricature of âblackâ behavior,â the suit says.
In another instance of shameful antics, when a female worker at a store complained about a âhostileâ male manager, Zamfotis told Day he had conducted his âown investigationâ â and then ordered the woman to be fired, the suit says.
Zamfotis also demanded that a new hire â a âwhite, male baristaâ â be paid a salary of $75,000, while the black female store manager was paid â$20,000 less than the white, male barista Zamfotis favored,â the suit alleges.
Day said she confronted Zamfotis in December 2023 about his âunlawful actions,â saying they were âtext book examples of what is against the law.
âYouâre going to get the sâ sued out you [sic],â the suit claims she said.
After Zamfotis iced out Day, refusing to communicate with her over her protests, she submitted her resignation, the court documents say.
âWe recognize that when an individual takes legal action against an employer, it requires a great deal of grit and courage,â Dayâs lawyer, Seth Rafkin, said in a statement. âOur client and our firm are hopeful that this case will address not only her claims but also help others dealing with similar circumstances.â
Zamfotis started the hipster coffee shop in 2005 with a âkick startâ from his restaurateur father, who ran several fast-food joints in the area over the years, he told greenwichmoms.com.Â