Boulder woman is suing Whole Foods for discrimination

A woman in Boulder is suing Whole Foods Market on allegations of harassment and discrimination based on her sexual orientation.

Jennifer Johnston identifies as a lesbian, and claims that she endured a hostile work environment based on her sexuality while working for Whole Foods. The suit seeks front and back pay as well as damages.

Johnston told Denver news outlet CBS4 that she felt forced to resign after her supervisor made derogatory comments to her, including that she looked “unf*ckable” and that “only lesbians wear Crocs,” as well as mocking her for being a lesbian and asking prying questions about her sexual practices with her wife.

The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, also alleges that Johnston faced retaliation for reporting the abuse. Johnston was written up for playing music with profane language by the Pearl Street location’s store manager, a charge that she vehemently denies.

“It made me feel awful,” Johnston told CBS4. “I loved working for Whole Foods … it was really disappointing when I wasn’t supported back when I always supported them.”

Brooke Buchanan, the Global Vice President for Communications for Whole Foods Market, released the following statement for the company:

“Discrimination in any form is unacceptable to Whole Foods Market. We were notified of this filing and are looking into the situation.”

While situations like this can seem rather silly (we’re sure that straight dads across the nation had no idea that they were lesbians for wearing Crocs), workplace harassment is no joke. It also isn’t surprising that this happened in Boulder, a city that preens under a liberal reputation while actually doing very little for marginalized communities.

As a whole, Boulder tends to be very White and very wealthy, with a housing market that rivals resort cities like Vail. Boulder’s iconic hippies have been replaced with yuppies, and gentrification is becoming a problem as tech giants like Google open offices downtown. Johnston’s case is a reminder that bigots live in liberal areas as well solidly “red” states, and that companies like Whole Foods need to back up their policies on diversity and employee safety.

Johnston and her legal team have started a petition that elaborates on the hostile work environment and encourages people to tell Whole Foods that queer discrimination will not be tolerated. You can find the petition here.