A Man With Autism Was Fired By McDonald’s Where He Worked For 37 Years
After 37 years of work, an employee who received awards and honors for his work at a McDonald’s grill was fired after 37 years of working at the giant fast food.
After two months, a different franchise became the new owner of the giant fast-food McDonald’s in Deptford, New Jersey. According to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the fast food chain fired him because he had autism.
According to a published post by Newstral, The unfair firing of the grill cook violated the the law of Americans with Disabilities Act. Now, the McDonald’s franchise, JDKD Enterprises, L.P., has agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve the disability discrimination lawsuit.
Employee With Autism Was Fired By McDonald’s Where He Worked For 37 Years (Photo: Newstral)
The Man’s Years of Career With McDonald’s
According to a complaint filed in federal court, The man started working at McDonald’s way back in 1981 as a grill cook before joining the restaurant in Deptford in 2008.
They said his autism spectrum disorder can be seen because of how he communicates which was evident while he worked. It explains how it can cause him to have a hard time controlling the volume of his voice.
On May 14, 2018, at work, the grill cook’s autism spectrum disorder caused him to become agitated and raise his voice. The McDonald’s franchisee responded to the situation by firing him the same day, while, the worker was still qualified to perform his job. According to the complaint the franchisee could’ve tried to provide accommodation to the employee but failed to do so.
The complaint states that the firing caused the man emotional distress, suffering, inconvenience, pain, mental anguish, embarrassment, frustration, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment in life.
THE LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT
Along with paying $100,000 to the settlement of the lawsuit, JDKD Enterprises agreed to take further action to avoid future discrimination against a person with a disability. The release said the McDonald’s franchisee will train and help the management to respond to requests for accommodations and will report to the EEOC.
