NEW YORK >> Starbucks was sued today by the state of Missouri, which accused the coffee chain of using a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as a pretext to systemically discriminate based on race, gender and sexual orientation.

In a complaint filed in St. Louis federal court, Missouri accused Starbucks of tying executive pay to the company’s achieving racial and gender-based hiring quotas.

It also accused Starbucks of singling out preferred groups for additional training and job advancement prospects, and employing a quota system to ensure its own board of directors had a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds.

“All of this is unlawful,” said the complaint from the office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican.

Starbucks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump, also a Republican, has tried to shut down policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside the federal government, and some companies have taken action.

For example, the Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs today canceled a policy to take companies public only if they had two diverse board members, generally defined as people from underrepresented demographics.

The retailer Amazon.com, meanwhile, removed a reference to inclusion and diversity from its annual report last week.

Tuesday’s lawsuit challenged Starbucks policies adopted since 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a Minneapolis police officer triggered unrest nationwide and led many companies to rethink employment practices.

Missouri said Starbucks’ alleged endorsement of quotas “should come as no surprise,” citing new Chief Executive Brian Niccol’s support of environmental, social and governance goals while leading the Chipotle burrito chain.

Starbucks employs about 211,000 people in the U.S. and 361,000 people worldwide.

In August 2023, a federal judge in Spokane, Washington dismissed a shareholder lawsuit challenging Starbucks’ diversity policies, saying the case addressed public policy questions best decided by lawmakers and companies, not courts.

Missouri’s lawsuit accuses Starbucks of violating federal and state civil rights laws.

It seeks to force Starbucks to end alleged discrimination based on race, gender and national origin; rehire and rescind discipline against employees affected by discrimination, and pay unspecified damages.

The case is Missouri ex rel Bailey v Starbucks Corp, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, No. 25-00165.