The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Wendy's International for the alleged wrongful termination of an employment on the basis of his age and disability, according to court documents.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims that Wendy’s needs to “correct unlawful employment practices” after the company allegedly discriminated against an employee due to his disability and age, according to a lawsuit filed in Ohio.
Wendy’s International LLC reportedly denied an employee, who was in his 50s, the right to return to work after he had some surgeries, despite his doctor clearing him to resume working, the lawsuit alleges. The EEOC sued Wendy’s in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio December 29.
“Wendy’s is committed to creating a workplace that reflects our values of inclusion, treating people with respect, and doing the right thing,” a Wendy’s spokesperson wrote in an email to Franchise Times. “We will respond to the allegations through the proper legal channels.”
The employee started his Wendy’s career in 1993 at a franchise restaurant; in 2022, he was a district manager and worked at corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. In 2022, the employee was diagnosed with neurological and musculoskeletal impairments that impacted the function of his elbows, wrists and hands. The impairments reportedly didn’t impact his ability to do his job, according to the lawsuit.
In the fall of 2022, the employee took medical leave to recover from hand and wrist surgeries in September and November. After the second surgery, Wendy’s allegedly required him to stay on short-term disability leave through January; the company reduced his pay during this time, the EEOC alleged.
In February, the employee’s doctor cleared him to return to work. The EEOC alleged that Wendy’s didn’t allow the employee to do so, despite knowing he could resume working as long as he didn’t need to lift more than 10 pounds with his right hand, which the EEOC states wasn’t listed in his job description as an essential function of the role.
At the end of May in 2023, Wendy’s reportedly sent the employee a notice of its intent to fire him. The employee disputed the upcoming termination and provided Wendy’s with medical forms regarding his physical limitations.
Wendy’s informed the individual in June that it would continue with plans to terminate his employment because of his physical limitations. The company allegedly stated it wasn’t aware the employee was cleared to return to work, despite him reportedly telling Wendy’s human resources about it in February, according to court documents.
“[Wendy’s] again discriminated against [the employee] on the basis of disability when it refused to allow him to return to work for [Wendy’s] in any capacity, conditioned [his] employment on his demonstrated ability or capacity to work without any restrictions, required him to remain on leave, did not make reasonable accommodations to the extent any where needed, and/or denied him employment opportunities based on the need to make such accommodations,” the commission wrote in the lawsuit.
These actions would violate the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The EEOC wants the court to grant permanent injunctions to prevent Wendy’s from violating the ADA and ADEA, as well as maintaining any policies that require employees to be fully healed before returning to work, among other requests. The commission requests back pay and compensation with interest to the employee and that Wendy’s provide other damages.
Wendy’s Q3 Earnings Results
In its third quarter earnings call November 7, Wendy’s reported global system sales were down 2.6 percent to $3.5 billion. International sales were up 8.6 percent compared to Q3 of 2024. The brand opened 54 new locations.
Interim CEO Ken Cook said the brand has been implementing measures to drive sales at corporate-owned restaurants in the United States. U.S. company stores “outperformed the system by 4 percent in the third quarter,” he said on the call.
Wendy’s introduced new chicken tenders and its “Project Fresh,” which Cook called “a comprehensive turnaround plan structured around brand revitalization, operational excellence, system optimization and capital allocation.”
He continued, “We are acting with urgency to execute the operational and brand initiatives to drive [average unit volume] growth in the U.S., creating value for our franchisees and shareholders.”
Year to date, Wendy’s global sales were down 1.8 percent to $10.58 billion, accounting for a 3.4 percent decline in U.S. sales and an 8.7 percent increase in international sales. Same-store sales were down 3.7 percent in the United States and up 2.4 percent internationally, according to the earnings report.
Wendy’s hasn’t announced the date for its year-end earnings call.