A former Starbucks vice president is suing the coffee chain after allegedly being punished for reporting “the truth.”

Janice Waszak, who’s suing for wrongful termination and sex discrimination, claimed she was illegally fired after complaining that maggots had infested a state-of-the-art Siren System designed for speedy efficiency.

“They should have given her an award for standing up for what was the truth. Instead, they fired her,” said Michael C. Subit, Waszak’s attorney, the Seattle Times reported.

Subit and Waszak’s other lawyer, Catherine Sellers, also claimed their client endured sex discrimination when Starbucks “allegedly terminated her for interpersonal behaviors for which it has not discharged male employees.”

The saga began in 2018 when Waszak reported to Natarajan Venkatakrishnan, who was vice president of global equipment at the time. His team reportedly spearheaded the Siren System that was presented to senior execs in 2022.

Two leaders who criticized the new system were soon no longer employed by Starbucks, according to the lawsuit.

“Venkatakrishnan later bragged to Waszak that he had brought about the termination of both executives because they had spoken out against him,” the complaint claims, according to the Times.

Waszak then began overseeing the new system implementation, which at the time Starbucks touted as “a series of equipment and technology improvements unveiled in 2022 to make crafting beverages and food more straightforward for partners.”

But during a testing demonstration in front of Starbucks leadership, Waszak allegedly spotted maggots falling out of a milk dispenser.

“Baristas flicked the maggots away to avoid attendees seeing them,” the lawsuit claims.

Waszak had also allegedly told Venkatakrishnan about employee complaints that the system “was too complicated” to sanitize.

Waszak’s concerns caused a rift between her and her boss, and she brought an HR complaint against him after he allegedly brought her to tears during a contentious confrontation.

She was fired, allegedly, soon after.

After Waszak was informed of her termination, she learned that an employee had allegedly complained about her work performance. But those complaints were shot down by an ethics and compliance officer who investigated the claim.

“We don’t believe the reason they gave,” Subit said, according to the Times, adding that Waszak “infuriated her boss by not backing down, and he got rid of her.”

“We don’t believe that men were held to this standard,” Subit said of the Waszak’s termination over the employee’s claims.

Starbucks shot back against the lawsuit on Tuesday.

“Safety is a top priority for Starbucks, and these claims are entirely without merit,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

“Ms. Waszak was separated from the company after an investigation into allegations that her conduct violated Starbucks workplace conduct policies. We look forward to presenting our evidence in court.”

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