New Jersey Man Sues Costco After Cashier Allegedly Made Anti-Semitic Remarks
A sign marks the location of a Costco store on December 12, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Image by Scott Olson/Getty Images
(JTA) — A New Jersey man has accused a Costco cashier of directing anti-Semitic remarks and questions at him while he was checking out.
Irwin Levy filed a civil lawsuit on Monday in Monmouth County Superior Court about the April incident at the Costco in Hazlet. The lawsuit claims religious discrimination and negligent hiring and retention practices, and seeks an unspecified amount of damages, the Asbury Park Press reported. The lawsuit also calls for Costco to institute training against discrimination, retaliation and harassment.
Levy’s son Justin works at the Costco. While he was checking out, a cashier asked the elder Levy “how much” of his son is Jewish. He responded that his son was half Catholic from his mother and half Jewish from him.
The cashier responded that Levy’s son “has to be more Jewish than that” and that she meant it “in a bad way of course,” according to the complaint. She said that “Jews only see things in black and white with no gray area; just like Justin,” according to the complaint, which added that the cashier tried to follow him out of the store and continued to insult Levy, his son and Judaism, NJ.com reported.
The lawsuit names Costco Wholesale Corp., a manager and the clerk who allegedly made the comments. It says that in the wake of the incident, Levy has had to shop at other Costco outlets that are inconvenient and suffered “mental anguish, humiliation and sleeplessness.”
Costco would not comment to the local media, citing the ongoing legal case.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
