Inset: A fish sandwich stuffed with bacon (Complaint). Background: ANN ARBOR, MI — MARCH 19: This local McDonald’s restaurant has an empty parking lot but a busy drive-thru line during the State of Michigan mandated COVID-19 Coronavirus closure period on Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Ann Arbor, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images).
A McDonald’s restaurant in Massachusetts likely served a Muslim child pork in an act of discrimination, a state agency recently ruled.
In 2021, Ghadir Alahmar, who wears a hijab — a traditional Muslim headscarf — visited a branch of the popular fast food chain in Chicopee, a medium-sized city in the greater Springfield metro area. There, she ordered a Filet-O-Fish sandwich for her 7-year-old son.
Alahmar, who also wears an abaya — a long Islamic dress — ordered the sandwich plain, according to a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in June 2022. Instead, the family received a fish sandwich covered in bacon.
The lawsuit alleges McDonald’s employees “intentionally and maliciously discriminated against” her and her family “by adding bacon to a fish sandwich despite her explicit request for a plain sandwich, charging her for the bacon she had not ordered, and then, to make matters even worse, adding three to four times the amount of bacon that would normally be provided when a customer requests it.”
Last month, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination issued a finding of probable cause in favor of Alahmar.
“A fact-finder may reasonably conclude that [McDonald’s] staff perceived [Alahmar] and her family to be Muslim based on her dressing in the Hijab and a long gown, and her difference in national origin based on her accent,” the decision reads. “[McDonald’s] also state[s] that one of their employees was aware of the tenets of [Alahmar’s] religion that prohibit the consumption of products that come from pig, which may suggest that serving [Alahmar] bacon was not in error.”
The lawsuit alleges why an accident was unlikely:
Upon information and belief, the McDonald’s cash register uses a screen where employees touch electronic buttons showing food items and any add-ons or requests. Upon information and belief, the screen has separate buttons for “plain” and “add bacon,” among other options.
The manager acknowledged that it was highly unlikely Employee No. 1 could accidentally press the “add bacon” button instead of the “plain” button, given their respective locations on the screen
Massachusetts appears to have agreed.
“[McDonald’s] asserts this was done in error, but the evidence and circumstances support a reasonable inference of pretext,” the decision goes on.
The agency instructed the parties to attend a closed-door conciliation session in February to discuss the possibility of “a reasonable settlement offer and demands.” Participation is not mandatory, however, if either party fails to attend, they run the risk of the case progressing to a public hearing and/or the imposition of sanctions.
“We are encouraged by this significant finding, which allows the case to advance,” CAIR-MA Legal Director and attorney Barbara J. Dougan, said, in a press release this week. “While this is not yet a final resolution, it’s gratifying that MCAD saw through the justifications offered by McDonald’s to explain this disturbing incident at the Chicopee store. MCAD’s finding brings us one step closer to accountability and justice for the family.”
Under Massachusetts law, public accommodations cannot discriminate against protected classes. The agency found that McDonald’s employees likely did this in two ways in the present case: by discriminating against Alahmar’s religion and national origin.
The family hails from Yemen.
“I’m happy that MCAD decided there’s Probable Cause that McDonald’s discriminated against us,” Alahmar said in a statement. “Even now, my son tells me that every time he sees a McDonald’s, he still thinks about what happened to us. I want McDonald’s to make changes to employee hiring and training so that only people who are respectful and welcoming work there, not racist or prejudiced people. My son said the same thing — I want them not to hate Muslims.”
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