Taco Bell Employee Of 26 Years Suddenly Fired For Hiring Hispanics

Juanita O’Connell, 60, had worked for Taco Bell since 1987 and became a general manager. Unfortunately, this new position was short-lived, because the company fired her shortly after – for hiring people who were Hispanic. O’Connell has since sued the company.

According to the complaint O’Connell filed with Indianapolis’ district court, the former employee claimed that her operations manager, Mark Lewis, gave her specific instructions not to hire Hispanics last year. O’Connell, who is of Mexican descent, said that when Lewis saw a Hispanic employee in her store, he said something to the effect of “Didn’t I tell you not to hire Hispanics?” O’Connell’s claim was verified by a witness.

About two weeks after that incident, O’Connell received a warning from a higher up “after asking [her] misleading questions about her operation.” Just three hours later, O’Connell was notified that she had an I-9 violation, had violated the manager code and was fired. In her complaint, O’Connell stated that Taco Bell had violated Title VII, which protects employees from discrimination based on things like sex and race. O’Connell claimed that she was treated differently than non-Hispanic male employees at the company.

O’Connell’s lawyer, Joel Paul of the Ramey & Hailey law firm, says that O’Connell is seeking “whatever she’s entitled to under the law.” She is asking Taco Bell to pay lost wages and benefits, attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.

Although the restaurant industry is the single largest employer of people of color, it is often a racially charged environment and has become the largest source of sexual harassment claims.