A user on TikTok is calling out Burger King after she claims that the store fired her for asking for a raise.
In a video with over 963,000 views as of Saturday, TikTok user Jay (@pure.life.jay) tells the story of how she got fired from Burger King.
According to Jay, she became a manager at her local Burger King after the previous manager resigned. From there, she spent 10 months “building [her] team” and ensuring the store ran smoothly, which resulted in the store doing “really well.”
However, Jay soon found it too difficult to pay for childcare while on the job. She approached her boss asking for a raise, at which point she was told that such a request was impossible to fulfill.
She then escalated the issues—at which point, she says, she was fired.
@pure.life.jay Part 2 will include why I was fired a second time. Management working whole having Covid, Rats, Mice, Mold, Theft, Child labor laws and sooooo much more. #pleasantontx ♬ original sound – Pure.Life.Jay
However, Jay says that her raise request wasn’t the reason the store gave for letting her go.
“He claims it’s because I didn’t answer my phone whenever he would call my personal phone, the one that they don’t pay for,” Jay states. “I was always at my store, and you know what my store has? A store phone.”
“You’d think my [district manager] would call that store phone…I told him, ‘Hey, if you’ve gotta get in contact with me, just call the store,’” Jay continues. “Not once. Didn’t make any sense, right?”
Jay suspected that this wasn’t the true reason and chose to send a message confronting her former managers.
“Within 10 minutes…[I] got a phone call, set up a meeting, got my job back — but not as the store manager. Now, I’m just a regular hourly employee,” she explains.
The worst part? Jay says that the person the store hired to replace her currently earns more than she did in the same role.
“The person that they hired to replace me, they hired him, and he makes a lot more money than I do—which makes no sense because I built that store,” she says. “And I could have used that money for babysitting!”
Jay then says that there are many “dirty secrets” from her time working at the store. While she does not cite any specific incidents, she references “Management working [while] having Covid, Rats, Mice, Mold, Theft, Child labor laws and sooooo much more” in the caption. She also says that she has “receipts.”
In the comments section, users advised her to escalate the issue to the best of her ability.
“Words of advice, contact a lawyer. don’t air it all out,” suggested a user. “If you have receipts, get a lawyer.”
“If you have receipts contact the EEOC. You were discriminated against,” wrote another.
“If on you day off you have to do job duties like phone calls they have to pay you by law. Go to the labor board. Hire an attorney,” stated a third.
Others shared their own labor stories.
“Girl I was 16 as a assistant manager 50 hours a week,” said a commenter. “My state only allows 20 hours a week for underage employees.”
“I had worked for a company for 10 yrs. Pandemic really opened my eyes. And I had the same problem, they were hiring other managers with less experience for more pay,” offered a second. “I got an offer and I left. It was a blessing in disguise.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Jay via TikTok direct message and Burger King via email.