Little Caesars employee fired after writing 'gay' on receipt

Two men allege a Little Caesars employee gave them a receipt with the word “gay” written at the top.

On Friday, Rosman Harris and Marcus Robertson, who are cousins, visited one of the franchise’s outlets in Henrico County, Va. They placed their order, then walked around the area for about 15 minutes before returning to pick up their pies. But when they returned to get their food, Harris noticed something unusual by the top of the receipt where a customer’s name is typically displayed.

“It said, ‘gay,'” Harris told WTVR. “I was baffled, and it made me semi-angry because I feel like it’s 2019 and we’re still having to deal with this.”

According to the local outlet’s report, the two men were never asked for a name to put on the order, although they claim that the customers both in front and behind them were. And when it comes to their sexual identity, neither Harris nor Robertson revealed to the cashier that they are gay.

“It was this preconceived notion of, ‘Oh, these are gay men,'” Harris explained. “So, why would you write that on the ticket? I’m not understanding that.”

When another cousin of theirs went into the store on Sunday to speak to a manager about the incident, they were confronted by the same cashier who allegedly attributed the label to the customers’ rude behavior.

“[The cashier] said, ‘Well, oh, he was being loud, he was being rude,'” Robertson, who wears a visible hearing aid, told WTVR. “So, my cousin was, like, ‘No, he wasn’t being loud or rude. He’s hearing impaired, so when he talked loud that’s for him to hear himself speak.'”

Tina Orozco, the director of communications for Little Caesars corporate, assures  that immediate action was taken.

“Little Caesars maintains a zero-tolerance policy against any violations of professional conduct,” Orozco said in a statement. “This is a highly unusual, isolated situation at a store locally owned and operated by a franchisee. The franchise owner took immediate action to investigate this matter and has terminated the employment of the individual involved in the incident.”

Although the manager of the Henrico County store allegedly told Harris and Robertson’s cousin that the cashier in question could not be fired because they were short-staffed, they learned on Monday that she was in fact terminated. Still, the pair told WTVR that they are awaiting an apology and looking into taking legal action.

“For something like this to happen, not only does it impact your business, it impacts your image as well,” Robertson said.