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California Woman Sues Albertsons After Clerk Wrongly Assumes She’s on food Stamps
San Jose Mercury News ^ | April 14, 2017 | DEEPA BHARATH

Posted on 04/15/2017 11:39:22 AM PDT by nickcarraway

An African-American woman filed a civil rights lawsuit Monday, April 10, against Albertsons and its parent company, Safeway, alleging that its managers took no steps to correct or apologize for the actions of a checkout clerk at an Irvine store who incorrectly assumed the woman was on food stamps.

Jenna Watkinson, a spokeswoman for Safeway, said company officials have not seen the lawsuit and “do not comment on pending litigation.”

“However, any time we interact with a customer, our goal is to ensure that they are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy,” she said Wednesday.

Deirdre Harris, 42, who filed the lawsuit, said the incident occurred Jan. 27 at the Albertsons at Alton Avenue and Culver Street. Harris said she was trying to pull out a debit card from her phone case to pay for the items, when the checkout clerk asked her if she wanted to use her EBT card.

“What exactly did you say?” Harris asked the clerk.

The clerk repeated her question and asked if she wanted to use food stamps.

“I felt completely demoralized,” said Harris, an Orange County native who grew up in Huntington Beach, works as a fashion brand consultant, and has lived in Irvine for 22 years. “For me, it was a very clear reminder — a painful reminder — that we do not live in a post-racial era.”

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Local News
KEYWORDS: albertsons; california; ebt; welfare
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1 posted on 04/15/2017 11:39:22 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

The terminally offended.


2 posted on 04/15/2017 11:41:47 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (Ignorance is reparable, stupid is forever)
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To: nickcarraway

“For me, it was a very clear reminder — a painful reminder — that we do not live in a post-racial era.”

Your Messiah, Barak Obama saw to that.


3 posted on 04/15/2017 11:42:58 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (Ignorance is reparable, stupid is forever)
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To: nickcarraway

That question would probably pyss me off, as well.

I wouldn’t sue — but still.


4 posted on 04/15/2017 11:44:18 AM PDT by Tx Angel (Insert witty tagline here)
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To: nickcarraway
painful reminder — that we do not live in a post-racial era.

More whites use EBT cards than blacks, so what's race have to do with it?

5 posted on 04/15/2017 11:44:48 AM PDT by Cementjungle
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To: Tx Angel

I think someone asked me one. Didn’t give it a second thought.


6 posted on 04/15/2017 11:45:10 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Barack Obama set race relations back DECADES in our country, to the point that there’s a whole new generation of elementary skool kids who are fully programmed to focus on skin color.


7 posted on 04/15/2017 11:46:10 AM PDT by Carthego delenda est
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To: nickcarraway
Harris, ...grew up in Huntington Beach

She's one of the very few blacks who did. The only place in OC whiter than HB is Irvine and the Nixon library.

8 posted on 04/15/2017 11:46:33 AM PDT by Michael.SF. (Women who are 25 pounds overweight tend to live longer than the men who mention it.)
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To: headstamp 2

I don’t see the legal justification for the lawsuit. Exactly what are the damages? Hurt feelings? I hope Albertsons rejects this nonsense.


9 posted on 04/15/2017 11:46:42 AM PDT by Blennos ( As)
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To: nickcarraway

Guaran-damn-tee there’s more to this.


10 posted on 04/15/2017 11:47:22 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: headstamp 2

Well it’s mildly offensive. Worthy of counseling unworthy of a lawsuit. She has her bros and sisters to thank. Stereo types just don’t appear out of thin air.


11 posted on 04/15/2017 11:47:23 AM PDT by Fhios
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To: nickcarraway

As a person of Mexican heritage, I’ve had this happen to me (in California, significantly enough, never here in Arizona in the past 20+ years I’ve lived here.). I would have been offended, but I wouldn’t have sued. I would have taken the time to “educate” the clerk on the inappropriateness of stereotyping. That’s all that needed to be done.


12 posted on 04/15/2017 11:47:41 AM PDT by fidelis (Zonie and USAF Cold Warrior)
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To: nickcarraway

I thought that the merger of Albertsons and Safeway made
Albertsons the parent company, not the other way around.


13 posted on 04/15/2017 11:48:13 AM PDT by Sivad (Don't believe in ' /s ' tags)
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To: headstamp 2

A messy Messiah to say the least. But I hope she remembers the stereotypes that he exacerbated. I’m not sure it’s worth a suit at the store. She might remember it’s Donald Trump who would rather her have the dignity. A call or tweet from Donald would mean so much at this point.


14 posted on 04/15/2017 11:48:43 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Tx Angel

I would tell the clerk I,m not on public Assistance.. Then pay with your debit card.. Or food stamp card.. I wouldn’t sue though..


15 posted on 04/15/2017 11:49:46 AM PDT by Davy Crocket
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To: nickcarraway
A few years back a clerk asked me this same question in a Save-a-Lot store. I replied: "I just get to pay for food stamps,I don't get to use them."
16 posted on 04/15/2017 11:51:32 AM PDT by 4yearlurker (If you work for living,why do you kill yourself working?)
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To: nickcarraway

Come off it! I’m a white guy and I swipe my EBT card. No one gives me a second look.

If she has a problem with being racially offended, that’s her problem.

I bet she would have the same response if the store clerk asked her if she bought fried chicken and watermelon.


17 posted on 04/15/2017 11:54:38 AM PDT by goldstategop ((In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever))
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To: fidelis

She should say she’s a redneck now. Rednecks come in many colors.

That was kind of cold of the cashier though. Even if she’d used Link in the past. But it’s displaced anger. The store could say it salutes the revived prosperity of America.


18 posted on 04/15/2017 11:55:38 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: goldstategop

What? A freeper use Link? Blasphemy. Well actually it’s a socialist program we are forced into with no choice. Charity should go back to churches and any other private foundation that wants to do it. The appeal would be far less odious if it were not from faceless bureaucrats.


19 posted on 04/15/2017 12:01:22 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: nickcarraway

If so many of her people weren’t on food stamps (you know, the kind of folks the lady on the register sees every day), she wouldn’t have been asked the question.

Now, she’s gonna be rich.


20 posted on 04/15/2017 12:03:43 PM PDT by miss marmelstein
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