Burger King cook Usha Ram won a lawsuit against the fast food giant and was awarded $46,000 after being fired for taking a fish sandwich, fries, and a drink.
Ram testified that she had forgotten her wallet and asked her manager if she could take food home, according to CBC News. The 24-year Burger King cook thought her manager agreed, so she put a fish sandwich and fries into a bag and poured a soda, which she also took.
When she returned to work after three days, she was fired for stealing the food after manager Tayyaba Salman said Ram had only asked to take the sandwich, not the fries and drink.
When Ram was speaking to lawyer Lee Cowley about a different matter, she mentioned she had been fired and he told her she should file a lawsuit, the CBC reported.
The Supreme Court in British Columbia awarded her $46,000, about one year’s salary plus $25,000 in damages for the mental distress of the firing. Ram testified that she suffered anxiety and depression after being fired, the CBC said.
The court agreed “employees should not take food without authorization,” but said Ram believed she did have permission for both the sandwich and fries, and that employees were already entitled to take a drink with them at the end of a shift, the CBC reported.
Ram, who struggles with English, court documents said, was speaking Hindi to Salman when she asked to take the food, said the CBC.
Ram, who is 55, had worked at various area Burger King locations for 24 years and had only an eighth grade education, according to the CBC.
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