Javier Ruiz Santeren has filed a lawsuit alleging workplace discrimination and harassment, bringing to light serious allegations against his former employer. The complaint was filed on April 21, 2025, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, naming World Voyager LLC as the defendant.
The lawsuit centers around claims that Santeren faced discrimination and harassment based on his national origin while employed as a Store Manager at World Voyager LLC, a company operating several coffee houses in Northern California. According to the complaint, Santeren, who is originally from Spain and speaks English with an accent, was subjected to ridicule by co-workers for his pronunciation and language skills. Despite reporting these incidents to Lauren Burns, a co-owner and Human Resource Representative for the company, his complaints were allegedly dismissed. "Ms. Burns ignored Plaintiff's complaint," states the document, adding that she suggested he enroll in English classes if he wished to continue working there.
Santeren further alleges that after raising these issues with another co-owner, Sameer Shah, no corrective action was taken. The situation culminated in his termination on September 19, 2024. He was informed that the decision was due to his team's failure to meet work expectations—a justification Santeren believes is a pretext for retaliation against his complaints about discrimination.
The lawsuit outlines multiple causes of action including discrimination based on national origin under California Government Code § 12940 et seq., harassment based on national origin, retaliation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and whistleblower retaliation under California Labor Code § 1102.5. Santeren seeks various forms of relief including compensatory damages for pain and suffering, punitive damages to deter future misconduct by the defendant, injunctive relief requiring policy changes at World Voyager LLC to prevent further discrimination and harassment, declaratory relief affirming that such practices are unlawful under California law, as well as attorney's fees and costs.
Representing Javier Ruiz Santeren are attorneys Scott Ernest Wheeler and Justin A. Wheeler from The Wheeler Law Firm APC. The case is being overseen by Judge Y. Chavez under Case ID 25CV463987.