Source: Grace Cary / Getty
Alabama and racism go together like peanut butter and jelly but way less delicious.
A story that was reported by the Miami Herald details the racist abuse a Black cashier suffered at Jack’s Family Kitchen in Warrior, Alabama, a small city just north of Birmingham. Tevin Burrow filed a lawsuit against the restaurant chain and accuses the franchise of firing him for calling out a toxic work environment. The complaint details incidents of racism by both managers and employees in the group chat used to communicate schedule changes, etc. Burrow was employed at Jack’s from May to June 2023 where he allegedly witnessed employees using racist slurs in front of customers, posting Nazi imagery, swastikas and commentary in the group chat. Burrow says that when he complained about the environment, he was told by a general manager to “let it go”.
After contacting the human resources department about the racist culture of the restaurant, Burrow was fired. He was given the excuse that he had used profane language in front of a customer while arguing with an assistant manager. Let Burrow tell it, cursing in front of customers was “inconsistently enforced” at Jack’s.
“Although Jack’s maintains personnel policies that prohibit harassing language in the workplace, including racist language, the manager at the Jack’s restaurant failed to discipline an employee who flagrantly violated the policy,” Burrow’s attorney said.
For the depression and humiliation that he endured, Burrow’s complaint is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and returned losses of wages and benefits. We hope he gets everything he asks for and much more.
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