Airdrie resident Lisa Pedersen is suing Starbucks Canada over what she believes is a wrongful termination of employment at the Dickson’s Crossing Starbucks in Airdrie.

According to a claim statement she has filed with the Court of King’s Bench in Calgary on October 25, 2022, Pedersen alleges she was fired from Starbucks on May 2, 2021, because she had symptoms of COVID-19. Pedersen, however, asserts that the symptoms were connected to her several blood cancer diagnoses, not COVID-19.

In the statement Pedersen filed, which was released to DiscoverAirdrie, she claims that she suffers from acute myeloid leukemia which has an adult survival rate of 27 per cent and polycythemia vera, which gives a life expectancy of four to five and a half years. 

Pedersen who was a single mother of three at the time of her firing is looking for $850,000 in total. $250,000 is claimed for loss of life insurance coverage, $250,000 is claimed for the added costs that will be incurred for caring a developmentally disabled child and $350,000 for the lost benefits.

In the claim, it states that Starbucks allowed her to have shifts that would allow her to take care of her child that had severe developmental disabilities. The claim also states this was "over-zealous enforcement of Covid protocol on the part of Starbucks."

Starbucks Canada did respond to DiscoverAirdrie's request for a statement regarding the matter.

"We are aware of the lawsuit and believe the claims are without merit. We have no further information to share at this time as we are unable to discuss active ligation matters."

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