Worker complains about restaurant’s racist group chat and is fired, AL lawsuit says
A former fast food restaurant worker was terminated after speaking up about the restaurant’s “racist toxic environment,” according to a lawsuit.
The complaint — filed Feb. 26 on behalf of Tevin Burrow against Jack’s Family Restaurants, an Alabama-based chain — accuses leadership of creating a hostile work environment. It cites a group chat used for scheduling and shift changes that his attorney says includes white supremacist messaging from other workers and leadership members.
Burrow, an African American man who was employed as a cashier from May to June 2023, said he was subjected to race-based harassment that continued even after he voiced his concerns, according to the complaint.
McClatchy News reached out to Jack’s Family Restaurants on Feb. 27 but did not receive an immediate response.
After hearing a co-worker use racial slurs in front of other workers and customers, Burrow complained to the general manager, but the manager did nothing and told him to “let it go,” according to the complaint.
Burrow learned that this type of inappropriate language was not only tolerated but regularly occurring, according to the lawsuit. In an online work group chat, several workers — including the manager — shared offensive commentary, including a Nazi swastika sign and other references to Nazi ideology, the complaint said.
Burrow was subject to viewing the group message because it was also used for scheduling, according to the complaint.
In June, Burrow contacted the human resources department to describe the restaurant’s environment, but within a week of his message, he was “abruptly terminated,” the complaint states.
He was told he was terminated for using profanity in front of customers during a verbal argument with an assistant manager, but based on Burrow’s experiences, not using profanity in front of customers was an “inconsistently enforced” policy, the complaint said.
“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.
According to the complaint, Burrow’s time working at Jack’s exposed him to racist language that “depressed and humiliated him.”
The complaint asks for a relief of lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Worker complains about restaurant’s racist group chat and is fired, AL lawsuit says."
