Karl Jones, a former employee of a popular fast-food chain, has filed a lawsuit alleging disability discrimination and retaliation. The complaint was lodged on December 16, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Zubha POP Foods, LLC, which operates as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
According to the complaint, Karl Jones accuses his former employer of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against him due to his sickle cell disease. Jones claims that despite informing his employer about his condition when he was hired as a General Manager in July 2021, he faced significant challenges when his health deteriorated in the summer of 2024. After being hospitalized for a week in August 2024 due to complications from his condition, Jones alleges that his employer failed to provide necessary accommodations and instead attempted to demote him from General Manager to a crew member. He refused this demotion as he believed it was unjustly based on his disability.
The situation escalated when Jones's store failed a health inspection shortly after his hospitalization. He contends that this failure was used as a pretext for termination on September 3, 2024. Jones argues that other managers without disabilities who had similar inspection failures were not subjected to the same disciplinary actions. Moreover, he cites discriminatory remarks from District Manager Latrice Thompson, who allegedly stated that Jones would not be rehired because "he gets sick too much."
Jones is seeking several forms of relief from the court including back pay with interest, compensatory and punitive damages, and coverage for legal fees. He asserts that the actions taken by Zubha POP Foods violated multiple provisions of the ADA by failing to accommodate his disability and retaliating against him for requesting reasonable adjustments.
Representing Karl Jones is attorney Travis P. Lampert from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while details regarding defense counsel remain undisclosed at this stage. The case is presided over under Case ID: 1:24-cv-12851.