“Can’t discriminate in hiring based on national origin. More importantly, you cannot advertise that discrimination.”
If Starbucks said, “We will only hire Syrian Refugees, they would have a problem.
Instead, Starbucks is saying “In addition to all the employees we normally hire, we will make an effort to hire refugees.”
That’s not a violation of any law.
You can’t even give the impression.
If SBUX said, “In honor of black history month, we’re hiring 10000 blacks.” they’d have the same problem.
If they are not citizens or here with a valid Visa, hiring them is against the law.
“Refugees” in their context, implies those of certain national origins.
In fact, the CEO made it quite clear that the “refugees” were members of the countries included in the executive order the CEO was complaining about.
And, unless specifically required for the job, you cannot even ask about things like national origin in the pre-employment process.
So if SBUX wants a refugee, and someone claims that status, how do they know they’re getting the “right” refugee without asking about national origin?