Fast food giant Burger King has responded after one of its former employees went viral shortly before being fired amid controversial circumstances.
Earlier this week we reported on Nykia Hamilton, who rose to online fame after her nigh-on heroic efforts at one Burger King branch in Columbia, South Carolina in July.
Reports at the time detailed how the mom-of-three was the only employee working that day, meaning she had to organize and see to all the stations by herself, including the front desk, the drive-thru counter, and of course the making of the food itself.
“[She’s] doing the fries, the burger, the chicken sandwiches. She’s doing everything by herself,” one customer who filmed Hamilton said, in a clip that later went viral.
“She’s doing everything she needs to do to make sure everybody is okay in here.”
There then came a bitter twist to the story, however, when the single mom revealed she had been fired from her position at Burger King due to turning up late on account of her children.
“[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,” the 25-year-old revealed to followers on TikTok. “My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing.
“I’m already aggravated, I’m already depressed, all of this mental s***, and motherf****** fucking with me, so leave me alone.”
A GoFundMe page set up in the days that followed her dismissal has thus far raised over $108,000.
Her story gained such exposure that Burger King themselves have now sought to clarify details relating to her firing. In a statement issued to the New York Post, they confirmed that Hamilton had indeed lost her job.
“Terminations are the decision of the franchisees who own and operate the BK restaurant,” a spokesperson for Burger King said.
“In this situation, the franchisee confirmed that the individual involved is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues.”
They also expressed dismay that Hamilton had been forced to run an entire restaurant by herself.
“No team member should ever be left to run a restaurant alone, even for a short period of time,” the spokesperson added.
“That’s not how we operate and we’re disappointed that our policy, which required more than one team member to work per shift, wasn’t followed.
“While we can’t share more on individual personnel matters, we’re focused on making sure every restaurant, whether company or franchise-owned has the staffing and support needed to take care of our team members and deliver the kind of experience our guests expect.”
What do you make of Nykia Hamilton’s dismissal? Let us know in the comments.
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