Hispanic woman suing Salvation Army claims discrimination at thrift store in Scranton because she did not speak English

Sep. 29—SCRANTON — A Hispanic woman from Lackawanna County filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Salvation Army, claiming an employee at the nonprofit organization's thrift store in Scranton disparaged her because she did not speak English.

Plaintiff Lynette Maldonado, a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico, claims she suffered discrimination on the basis of national origin, ancestry and race at the Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center at 1155 River St. on May 2, 2022.

Maldonado speaks Spanish as her primary language and has limited proficiency in English. She previously had regularly patronized the thrift store, where employees routinely assisted her by bringing larger or heavier purchases outside for her.

The lawsuit recounts events of her May 2, 2022, visit as follows:

On that day, she visited the store to buy an exercise bike, but could not carry it outside herself and asked an employee for help.

While that employee, identified in the lawsuit as Employee 1, went to ask other workers about carrying the bike outside, Maldonado paid for the bike at a register area where two other employees were working.

Employee 2, working a cash register, told Maldonado it would not be possible for any employee to take the bike outside for her.

Maldonado then requested a refund, "doing her best to communicate her refund request in a combination of her limited English, Spanish and gestures." But Employee 2 refused to give a refund and Maldonado became frustrated.

Employee 3 overheard the refund request. He "suddenly became hostile and belligerent" toward Maldonado.

Another customer, who also was Hispanic, noticed this employee's increasingly hostile treatment of Maldonado and began recording the interaction via cellphone.

This customer was with her elderly mother, who also witnessed the incident. They tried to clarify to the worker that Maldonado does not speak English.

But he told Maldonado to take her money and not to come back. Maldonado mentioned calling the police. Employee 3 said, "I am a citizen of the United States. Do not threaten me." Instead, he threatened to call the police on the three women and demanded that they leave the store.

The cellphone video showed that the women did not threaten the employee, the lawsuit claims.

"Store Employee 3's insinuated message was clear ... that he alone was a citizen of the United States and that this, in his view, granted him superior rights over" the three Hispanic shoppers and that he could throw them out of the store at will.

Employee 3 called store security and the trio was expelled as a crowd of other shoppers watched. Maldonado suffered "great humiliation and embarrassment" and fears returning to the store.

Maldonado is represented in the lawsuit by the nonprofit Community Justice Project.

The lawsuit, brought under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, seeks a court order forbidding the store from discriminating against patrons on the basis of national origin, ancestry and race, and to require employees to undergo anti-bias, anti-discrimination training.

Maldonado also seeks unspecified compensatory damages for emotional pain and distress, in an amount to be determined through a trial, as well as legal fees and costs.

The lawsuit says the Salvation Army is based in West Nyack, New York.

In a response to The Times-Tribune about the lawsuit, Salvation Army spokeswoman Heather MacFarlane issued the following statement: "The Salvation Army is committed to serving all those in need without discrimination, and we take accusations of bias very seriously. We are aware of the claim of discriminatory treatment made by a shopper at one of our Thrift Stores in Scranton that has been lodged against us in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. We are unable to comment further on this issue while the case is still pending."

On its website, the Salvation Army also expresses a commitment to diversity and fighting racism throughout its operations.

Maldonado first sought an administrative remedy to the incident, by filing a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission on Sept. 7, 2022, the lawsuit says. This commission has authority under state law to investigate complaints of unlawful discrimination in areas of employment, housing, commercial property, education and/or regarding public accommodations.

On Sept. 8, 2023, the commission issued a letter to Maldonado giving her the right to file in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas a lawsuit under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

The Community Justice Project then filed the lawsuit on Sept. 25.

Contact the writer: jlockwood@scrantontimes.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.