COLUMBUS, OH -- Wendy's is facing a federal discrimination lawsuit after regulators accused the company of unfairly firing a longtime district manager because of his age and a medical condition.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit Dec. 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The complaint alleges Wendy's violated federal law by discriminating against the manager based on age and disability.
According to the lawsuit, the manager was in his early 50s and had worked for Wendy's and its franchise system since the early 1990s. In 2022, he took approved medical leave for surgery. After his health care provider cleared him to return to work, the EEOC claims Wendy's refused to reinstate him, required him to stay on leave, conditioned his continued employment on being able to work without restrictions, and ultimately terminated his employment.
The lawsuit also alleges Wendy's favored younger workers around the time of the manager's dismissal.
The EEOC enforces workplace protections under laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, both of which prohibit discrimination and require employers to provide reasonable accommodations.
Wendy's is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio and operates nearly 6,000 restaurants nationwide, including more than 390 in Ohio.