A viral incident has unfolded involving a former Chili’s employee from Louisiana, who claimed his dismissal was due to refusing to adhere to a coworker’s preferred pronouns. However, Chili’s has stated that the firing was a result of ongoing harassment, which contravened the company’s conduct policies, rather than any personal stance on gender identity.
The ex-employee, Wesley Kirk Ford Jr., took to social media on Saturday to assert that he was dismissed after addressing a nonbinary coworker using “her actual legal government name.”
Contradicting Ford’s account, Chili’s has clarified that he persistently mocked and intimidated the coworker, disregarding requests to cease such behavior.
“While we typically do not address personnel matters publicly, it is crucial to provide context for the actions taken in this instance,” a spokesperson for Chili’s explained to Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson elaborated, “The individual’s termination resulted from numerous harassment occurrences towards a team member, breaching our policies, which impacted the team member’s ability to work. Despite being instructed multiple times to halt the behavior, the individual persisted.”
The spokesperson added, “Harassment, bullying, or behavior that disrespects another person is not consistent with our values and is not tolerated. As always, our focus remains on supporting our team members, caring for our Guests, and maintaining a respectful environment for everyone who works or dines with us.”
In a Saturday post on Facebook, Ford wrote, “I just got fired from Chilis in Denham Springs for calling a nonbinary coworker by her actual legal government name lolol. I now need to find a new job.”
Ford added, “I also need to find a first amendment/civil rights attorney. I will post more details on exactly what happened after I wind down some because I’m fired up right now lolol.”
In a video posted Saturday, Ford said he was fired for refusing to call the coworker not by her name, but by her “chosen name,” which he said was “Fish.”
He said he’d never been fired or even disciplined at any job before.
“I’m not participating in that s— anymore,” Ford said in the video. “Like, I don’t care. I don’t care, I put my foot down. And I’m just not, I’m not participating in it.”
Chili’s, however, maintained that Ford was committing harassing behavior.
“In this instance, the terminated team member excessively and unnecessarily mocked the other team member in an antagonizing manner to harass and intimidate,” the spokesperson said.
“This conduct was intentional, targeted, and designed to provoke a reaction. These repeated bullying actions created a hostile working environment and interfered with the ability to do their job.”