Employee's Mistreatment

A local woman says she is out of a job, not because she was hostile or antagonistic or hard to get along with, but simply after asking management for assistance to do what she was told to do. The woman, who works at one of the local fast-food restaurants, said that it was almost closing time and the dishes needed to be washed. She was working with several other employees, and one of them allegedly said, "go ask the old Black lady".

A minute later, the night manager came over to her and asked if she was going to wash the dishes. She said that she didn't mind doing the dishes, but she needed someone to help her with the heavy pots. She made the request because everyone who worked at the business knew that she did her job as a prep cook, but had restrictions that hindered her from lifting heavy objects. She said that after she began working at the restaurant, she was injured in an automobile accident. As she was getting medical assistance for her injuries, she came to work, always showing medical documentation for her medical visits.

The woman said that even with some limitations, she did her job as a cook, and where she could, she assisted other employees, even when it came to washing dishes. She said that she could put up the lighter objects such as plates and utensils. It was the heavy lifting of the pots that caused her problems, of which management was aware. On the night that she was told to leave, the manager didn't tell any of the other physically able-bodied employees to assist her but allegedly told her, "if you're not going to do it, get off of the property."

No one stood up for her as she got her purse and left in the middle of the night. She feels that she wasn't protected by the owner in the way she was handled. She also believes that her rights as an employee were violated. She said that she showed up for work even under trying circumstances, always dependable, only to be mistreated. Brown also has two daughters working at the restaurant. She wonders what kind of example she is to her daughters to let what happened to her go unchecked. She knows that it is not ok to be a productive, faithful worker and be mistreated in the workplace.