Bangalore: Priti Shetty, an Indian American franchisee of Dunkin’ Donuts (an international doughnut and coffee retailer) has filed a lawsuit against the company for racial discrimination, specifically against “Asian Indian American women of colour’’, reports New York Post.

According to the suit, which was filed recently in a New Jersey state court, even though numerous Indian origin people work at the organization none of them are multi-unit managers in Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.

Shetty also tells that Wayne Miller, a brand representative of Dunkin said that she was not “servile enough” as an Indian woman. Moreover, Milller forced Shetty to keep open Dunkin stores at Wantage and Oak Ridge, NJ for 24 hours even though she protested against this since the area was dangerous and caused danger to her safety. She further explains that keeping the shop open for one full day does not result in extra sales for the company.

When Shetty tried to open a third store as per the franchising agreement, the company did not allow her to do so pointing out some venue problems, says Shetty’s lawyers Jerry Marks of Marks & Klein. But later on a male franchisee was permitted to start the branch at the same location.

"It is not our practice to comment on litigation. However, Dunkin' Donuts has a wonderfully diverse base of franchisees, and we work to have good relationships with them. As a matter of fact, more than 90 percent of our new store growth comes from existing franchisees, which we believe is a testimony to their satisfaction with that relationship, said Michelle King, director of Global Public Relations for Dunkin' Brands.