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The popular pizza chain, Papa John’s, found itself in legal trouble as a federal agency sued the chain for 'Disability Discrimination.' In a lawsuit filed by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the pizza chain allegedly failed to accommodate and fired a blind employee due to disability.
The lawsuit advocates for the rights of Michael Barnes, a legally blind man relying on his service dog. He applied to his local restaurant in early 2020 after hearing that the company employs people with vision impairments, but was soon shaken by the ground realities.
As per the lawsuit filed on March 15, 2023, Papa John’s Pizza Restaurant unlawfully denied Barnes' request to keep his service dog on site and away from both customers and food preparation activities. Additionally, they even fired him without allowing him to work a single shift. The lawsuit (Civil Action No. 3:23-CV-00030-TES) has been filed by the federal agency in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Athens Division.
Papa John’s is yet to give an official statement on the matter
As per the lawsuit, Papa John’s actions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The act prohibits all sorts of discrimination on the basis of a person's disability. Through the lawsuit, the EEOC seeks a number of compensations for the wronged employee, Michael Barnes.
The compensations include back pay, reinstatement or front pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages for Barnes, along with injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination in a similar manner. However, Papa John’s is yet to give any sort of response and/or an official statement on the matter.
Speaking to the press about the lawsuit against the international pizza chain, Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, said:
“The ADA prohibits employers from terminating employees because of a disability and denying them equal employment opportunities.”
Briefing further on the matter regarding the violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by the pizza chain, the attorney added:
“The ADA protects employees seeking reasonable accommodations involving service animals. Employers must evaluate such requests on their individual merits. They may not, as Papa John’s has done, reject such requests based on vague and unspecified ‘health and safety’ concerns.”
Papa John’s has been taken to the court in a similar matter back in 2017
This is not the first time that the EEOC has taken the pizza chain to court. Back in 2017, the EEOC filed a suit against the company following the termination of a worker with down syndrome at a Farmington, Utah location. The fired employee, Scott Bonn, was terminated as he performed tasks with the aid of a job coach, who the company said was unaffiliated with them.
While the matter escalated for quite a while, it was later settled as the chain agreed to sign a consent decree to settle the suit. Utah Restaurant owners were later made to sign the consent decree, and Papa John’s was required to pay over $125,000 to the wronged employee, Scott Bonn. Along with compensation, the chain was also made to bring reforms to their employment systems by:
- reviewing and reforming the equal employment opportunity policies.
- conducting training for management and human resources employees for all its Utah restaurants.
- establishing a new recruitment program for individuals with disabilities in Utah.
It is not clear if the chain has since then adopted the expected reforms or if these are the mistakes on the part of the franchise owners.
Founded on October 2, 1984, by John Schnatter, Papa John’s is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain. Headquartered in the Louisville, Kentucky, and Georgia metropolitan areas, it is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States. With a business spread across 49 countries, it is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company.
While the chain is mostly based around carryout and delivery orders, some of its 5,500 restaurants have dining facilities for guests. The chain offers an exhaustive range of pizza variants, along with other popular dishes like chicken wings, french fries, desserts, beverages, and much more.
