EEOC Sues Wendy’s for Disability and Age Discrimination

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Wendy’s International, LLC violated federal law when it discriminated against a district manager because of disability and age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the lawsuit, Wendy’s International, LLC, which owns and operates fast food restaurants nationwide, employed a district manager who worked for the company and its franchises since the early 1990s. In 2022, the Columbus, Ohio-based district manager, who was in his early 50s, went on approved medical leave for disability-related surgery. Although his healthcare provider released him to return to work after surgery, Wendy’s would not let him return, required him to remain on leave, conditioned his employment on his ability to work without any restrictions, and then fired him, according to the lawsuit. Wendy’s also demonstrated a preference for younger workers in the years surrounding the district manager’s termination, according to the EEOC.

“Federal law is clear: employers cannot discriminate based on disability or age,” said Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. “The Commission is committed to upholding the protections guaranteed under the ADA and ADEA and ensuring that disabled and older workers are afforded equal employment opportunities.”

Conduct as alleged in the complaint violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibit disability discrimination and age discrimination, respectively. The ADA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities unless it would cause undue hardship. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Wendy’s International, LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-01516) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination. For more information on age discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. The legal staff of the EEOC also prosecutes discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.