A man with Down syndrome who was fired from his job of 20 years has been reinstated, after a Facebook post detailing the situation went viral.
Dennis Peek, 51, had been working at a Wendy’s restaurant in Stanley, N.C. for over two decades when he was fired because “he wasn’t able to do his job like a normal person,” Peek’s sister claimed in a post on Facebook.
Furious, his sister Cona Young Turner detailed the ordeal on social media, writing she was “heartbroken” when he was fired.
“His dream was to retire from there some day and he was looking forward to a huge retirement party,” Turner wrote on Facebook on Oct. 5. “We may just give him that party and tell him he has retired because he does not understand being fired.”
“They told me was unable to perform the duties of a normal persons job,” she continued. “I am also looking into a wrongful termination of a special needs employee.
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“I am very disappointed with the management at Wendy’s in Stanley, they have no idea how they hurt my brother!”
Turner later updated her post to say the restaurant had given Peek his job back, thanking people for their support. According to WSOC, Turner received a call from Carolina Restaurant Group the day after she posted to Facebook, saying they will reinstate her brother and he can return to work the following week.
“My heart is overwhelmed by the support that you all have given my brother and myself!” she wrote. “Thank you all so much.”
In a statement, the Carolina Restaurant Group said that, “we are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for our employees and our customers.
“This was an unfortunate mistake and lapse in protocol,” the statement continued. “We are in touch with the employee’s family, and we are looking forward to welcoming him back to work in the restaurant.”
