031203 Burger King Sued For “Discrimination”

Patchogue, NY - Eleven former employees of Burger King's Patchogue restaurant and three job applicants have filed a $103-million lawsuit against the Miami-based chain, charging they were discriminated against because of their race, disability or age.

The 14 plaintiffs, who are white or black, include a white manager who said she was fired from the restaurant on Medford Avenue after she refused to dismiss the former employees.

Kathleen Mindlin, 42, who worked for Burger King for three years until she was terminated in September 2002, said a district manager told her to "find" things to "write up" about the employees. She said the assistant manager, who is Hispanic, cut the hours of the whites and blacks but gave more hours to newly hired Hispanic workers.

Mindlin said she complained to a human-resources manager but received no help. Mindlin also alleged that when she suffered a heart attack after the district manager fired and berated her, the manager refused to let employees help Mindlin.

"What makes it so alarming is the blatant nature of this managerial behavior," said one of her attorneys, David Gordon, whose office is in Hauppauge.

Burger King, which owns the Patchogue restaurant, said in a statement that it hadn't seen the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip last week. The company defended its diversity record.

"Burger King Corp. embraces diversity initiatives that fulfill its broad responsibility to employees, customers and society," the statement said. "These initiatives apply to the entire company."

According to the complaint, the Patchogue restaurant's Hispanic assistant manager halved the hours of plaintiff Philip Libertella, who is white and has a learning disability, while giving newly hired Hispanic workers more hours. The assistant manager also falsely accused Don Johnson, a black employee, of stealing money. She ordered him to take a drug test, which came back negative, the complaint said.

Plaintiff Harriet Whaley, 54, who is white, was targeted for dismissal, the complaint said, because the district manager considered her "too old, too fat and too slow."

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