California woman sues Albertsons after clerk wrongly assumes shes on food stamps

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.

Harris said she spoke with three supervisors including Ron Foss, a regional manager at Safeway. She said he explained to Harris, like others supervisors had before, that the clerk had done nothing wrong and was simply trying to give her free bags, because those using food stamps dont have to pay for reusable plastic bags.

Foss, who was mentioned in the lawsuit, eventually offered her $500 as compensation for her emotional distress, she said, and added: If I were you, Id take it.

A follow-up letter sent by a Safeway claims examiner to Harris on March 24, the same day she talked to Foss, states: Please be advised that weve completed our investigation and determined theres no liability on the store. I acknowledge your allegation of emotional distress and would be willing to offer a customer service gesture of $500. Failing to accept the customer service gesture will be construed as a rejection and will result in a formal denial of this claim as there has been no evidence of discrimination or racial profiling.

It wasnt the first time Harris had experienced the subtle undercurrents of racism in a city that is less than 1 percent African-American, she said. But, she added, her conversation with Foss was the tipping point.

I didnt respond to the email or take their offer for $500, she said. I contacted an attorney and filed this lawsuit.

Her attorney, Chris Mears, said the actions of the store clerk and the company violate Californias Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers based on race and other attributes such as sex, religion, national origin, color and sexual orientation.

The corporate reaction to this incident is part of the problem, Mears said. They were only focusing on themselves and made no effort to step into the shoes of an African-American woman who was the recipient of this behavior, which shows a complete lack of empathy.

Even though the lawsuit seeks monetary damages to punish the company and for attorneys fees, Harris says for her its not about the money.

My hope is that it would help create a greater awareness and get this company to make changes and reduce the likelihood of it happening again, she said.

The more she talks about the incident, the more she relives that moment of being identified as someone who couldnt pay for her own groceries, despite working hard and having a successful career, Harris said.

I filed this lawsuit not just for my two children, but also as a professional who works with emerging brands and social startups, she said. If you are silent, you are part of the problem. Nothing changes when you are silent. I had to ask myself, if Im not taking steps toward progress, then, what am I doing?