LAFAYETTE – A former district manager of a Burger King restaurant is seeking damages against the company over alleged discrimination of age and race.
Scenter Pickney filed a lawsuit Feb. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette-Opelousas Division, against Strategic Restaurants Acquisition Co. LLC (SRAC), Burger King Corp., Teresa Donich, Damien Arabie and Troy Theriot, alleging that the defendants violated The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Service Reform Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Pickney asserts that she began working for defendants Burger King and SRAC on or about Nov. 29, 1982, and eventually became district manager prior to her termination on Aug. 14, 2014. Sometime in late 2013, the suit states that Pickney was demoted from her district position to restaurant manager for what she alleges was discriminatory reasons, which led her to filing a formal complaint to the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) in Baton Rouge.
She attests she continued working hard for the company, regardless of continued discrimination. One such alleged example of discrimination occurred over the speed of service timer found at each restaurant, which records the time of service of the drive-thru. Pickney alleges that she reported that her timer was defective to Donich and yet little was allegedly done to fix it until she reported it to Arabie and Theriot, who allegedly were sent to repair the timer.
However, Pickney alleges that defendant Theriot allegedly adjusted the timers to give inaccurate times. Pickney asserts that none of the other restaurants with allegedly white female managers had their timer manipulated like the one she manages. She alleges that this timer manipulation was in retaliation to her complaint with the LWC. She was allegedly terminated for alleged violations of the timer despite constant reports made by her that the timer hasn’t been fixed and that it was manipulated. Pickney further attests that after her termination, defendant Theriot arrived at her former restaurant and fixed the timer. The timer now allegedly works properly.
She is now seeking the court to reinstate her to district manager, with all the back pay, and benefits; award her compensatory damages; award her treble, exemplary, and/or punitive damages along with the cost of the suit, including attorney fees; and any other further relief deemed just by the court. She is requesting a jury trial and is represented by Harold D. Register Jr. in Lafayette.
U.S. District Court for Western District of Louisiana Case number 6:16-cv-00211-RGJ-PJH