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Wesley Hammonds, a Jersey City resident, filed the lawsuit last month in Essex County Superior Court against Belleville Chicken, LLC, which operations the location in Belleville and the store's general manager. Hammonds had worked at Popeyes from June 2020 until May 2022, when he was terminated.
Hammonds, who was the only Black employee, said he was hired to be a manager, but the restaurant did not want a Black manager visible in the front of the house and relegated Hammonds to the kitchen as a cook, where he earned a lower hourly rate.
The general manager frequently used racist terms, said Black people were "crazy" and referred to them as "your people," Hammonds alleges in the lawsuit. Hammonds was also denied vacation time entitled to non-Black employees and was eventually terminated after asking for the day off to cate for his daughter, who had a medical emergency, according to the lawsuit.
Hammonds said he felt humiliated, belittled and abused but felt powerless to stop the abuse, according to the lawsuit. He asked to work at another location, but was denied, according to the lawsuit.
Popeyes did not respond to a request for comment as of press time. This story will be updated if and when they respond.
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