Deaf McDonald’s employee say he was fired without due process after he was attacked by co-worker
A Deaf man from Houston, Azhar Zubair, said he was unfairly fired from a McDonald’s where he worked for over 30 years after he was punched in the face by a co-worker last week.
Azhar said last Wednesday in the early morning hours, he was working on loading food items that had just arrived from a truck. He explained that you’re supposed to check the items off from a list before moving them into the restaurant, but he noticed that a co-worker, who had just joined the restaurant three weeks earlier, was moving the items without checking the inventory. Azhar said he tried to stop the man and that’s when he was punched.
Here’s an interview clip.
Azhar Zubair: I told him to stop. He tried to bring items in and I told him to stop. He punched me in the face, right here. I didn’t punch him. I only told him to stop. When he punched me, I went to get a stick and held it. I didn’t strike him with it. The manager stopped both of us. I was punched! I know that the manager can check the camera footage. I didn’t punch him. I only told him to stop and back off.
Alex: Azhar’s wife said in a message to “The Daily Moth” that after the incident, McDonald’s forced him to continue working with the man who allegedly assaulted him.
Azhar and his wife then gave a written statement to the McDonald’s managers and human resources.
The McDonald’s managers told Azhar that he couldn’t come to work on that Saturday and had to stay home. He had no idea what was going on and had to wait.
Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, Azhar was told by his McDonald’s managers that he was fired for trying to push the co-worker.
Azhar said he was confused. He said McDonald’s did not provide an interpreter to ask him on what happened or to explain that he was fired. There was no process. He found out he was fired when he showed up at McDonald’s. He had to bring his hard-of-hearing friend to help with translation.
Azhar said he found out that the co-worker in the altercation was also fired. He said he’s shocked by what happened.
Azhar: He punched me in the face. I never hit him. The manager just fired me. I’ve worked here for 32 years. I’m Deaf. Maybe the managers just wanted to get rid of a Deaf worker. Both of the managers.
Alex: Azhar’s wife said McDonald’s did not call, e-mail, or even text him at all prior to firing him.
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Azhar and his wife said they have contacted the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) to provide support and possibly other attorneys in the Houston area.
Azhar said there are CCTV cameras that would show the incident last week. He doesn’t have the videos, though.
The McDonald’s location is 6950 Woodridge Drive in Houston.
I’ve tried calling this McDonald’s location but couldn’t get through. I’ve reached out to McDonald’s media relations department at their headquarters in Chicago to ask for more information and for their response.
I will share updates on this situation in a future report.