Sorry for format ahead of time, I’m on a phone. Throwaway account because I don’t want any specific Starbucks being outed and I don’t hate Starbucks. I loved working for them. They treated me with absolute respect and I still highly respect my old GM. It was my favorite job I’ve ever worked. Onto what happened though.

I had been working for Starbucks since January and was honestly really loving my job. It was easier for me to understand and grasp than even my gas station job. I had just moved back from across the country and I was looking to start over and with the health coverage benefits and not having health coverage with Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, it was a great thing for me!

COVID hit soon after and with an Autoimmune disease I couldn’t risk working and catching COVID. They were happy to let me take COVID leave. Then I moved towns and don’t have a car and transfers were on hold. My GM was understanding and let me go on leave again. I didn’t want to lose my job and she understood that.

When I got back, I had been working for two weeks when the DM called me over and wanted to put me on medical leave for my Psoriasis until it was under control. The issue with this was I was just below the hours needed for health coverage and didn’t have health coverage at this point. I also didn’t have a primary doctor to even get on medical leave. I was left one option, leave the company until it was under control, with a possibility of getting my job back of course but you get the point I’m making right? Mind you, when I was treated when I was younger, it took a year before it was “under control”.

The whole reason behind this was because it was a health concern for customers which is understandable.

The issue I’ve been having is that I wouldn’t have been able to work for a year without pay. I didn’t have enough base hours in my years to get unemployment. I was between a rock and a hard place.

I’m telling this story because I honestly don’t know what to do about this. I had told my GM before getting hired that my plan was to be there long enough to get health coverage to get it taken care of and right before I could, I was forced out of the company.

Again, I want to restate, I loved working for Starbucks. I plan to go back and work again in the future cause I absolutely loved working there. I loved having my regulars coming and saying hi and talking while typing in their usual orders, the people I worked with at the time, and work environment that I was in full of love and acceptance I hadn’t gotten anywhere else.

I guess this is a warning for others with similar conditions. If you have any condition similar to Psoriasis, beware of your condition, be aware of where it’s at and if you plan to get a food service job, try your best to keep it under control until you can take care of it better.

Anyways, that’s my story. It’s kind of a mess. I love this subreddit and I love reading the good stories and the horror stories. Keep up the good work and love.