CHARLESTON – A woman says she was assaulted by a fellow Starbucks employee while working and pregnant before her constructive termination.
Christine Bergdoll filed her complaint February 13 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Amy Hall and Starbucks Corporation.
According to the complaint, Bergdoll worked at the Starbucks location at the Charleston Town Center mall on December 20, 2021, when Hall (her supervisor) assaulted and battered her by punching her in the face while both were on the clock. Bergdoll says she was pregnant at the time and that the defendants knew she was pregnant.
Bergdoll says she reported the assault and previously had reported “differences” she had with Hall. She says she had told others she didn’t feel safe around Hall and feared Hall would physically harm her and her unborn child.
“The only action taken by Starbucks was to cut Bergdoll’s hours after she reported the attack,” the complaint states. “Starbucks, by cutting plaintiff’s hours, adversely affected plaintiff’s employment.
“With no action taken, Bergdoll requested that she be transferred to another location … Starbucks stated that her request would be honored. However, when she went to another location to apply for employment, she was denied on the grounds of ‘not available for rehire,’ plaintiff was compelled to resign due to her valid safety concerns.”
Bergdall accuses the defendants of violating the West Virginia Human Rights Act based on her gender, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, reprisal, retaliation, violations of the Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act and six counts of negligence. She also accuses Hall of assault and battery.
She seeks compensatory damages for lost wages, lost benefits, mental and emotional distress, annoyance, inconvenience and aggravation as well as punitive damages, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Bergdoll is being represented by D. Adrian Hoosier II of Hoosier Law Firm in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-127