Nifty Fifty’s Hit With Racial Discrimination Suit
The allegations come from an Ethiopian man who was a server at the Fishtown location.
The Fishtown location of Nifty Fifty’s, where an Ethiopian server says he was repeatedly called the n-word. (Nifty Fifty’s Fishtown image via Google Maps)
The Nifty Fifty’s in Fishtown had itself a nice viral PR moment the other day thanks to Post Malone, who stopped by and took photos with employees, while notably wearing Dallas Cowboys gear. No one is quite sure how he wound up at Nifty Fifty’s. Alas, as it sometimes goes, Nifty Fifty’s is now having itself a bad PR moment thanks to a just-filed federal lawsuit.
Former Nifty Fifty’s Fishtown server Abel Maru filed the lawsuit against Nifty Fifty’s as well as a holding company on Wednesday. According to the suit, Maru says he began working at the Fishtown location in December and that on February 14th, a white employee, Siobhan Corkery, called him the n-word. In the suit, Maru says he immediately called her out for using the slur and that she dismissed his concerns and replied, “If you are feeling froggy, then jump, bitch.”
Maru claims that that Corkery had a history of discriminatory behavior at Nifty Fifty’s, including referring to him and other Black men who worked there as “Black man” instead of using their names and frequently making unspecified racist remarks to a Black cook there.
After Corkery allegedly called Maru the n-word and then ignored him when he called her out on it, he went to shift manager Joseph Sykes, who is white. According to the lawsuit, Sykes was also dismissive, instructing Maru to “forget about it” and “ignore it.” But Maru wasn’t giving up and asked Sykes to escalate the matter to Nicole Sponburgh, the general manager. She didn’t take it seriously either, alleges the complaint. “Neither Sykes nor Sponburgh ever spoke with Corkery about her use of the n-word and never subjected her to any form of discipline,” reads the complaint.
Conversely, says Maru, Sykes and Sponburgh did address various personnel complaints in the past filed by white employees. “But in this instance, when it involved… a Black man and complaints of discrimination, [they] did nothing,” the suit alleges.
Two days after he initially complained about the racial slur, Nifty Fifty’s fired Maru. The suit says the reason management gave him was that he didn’t show up for work when he was supposed to, an accusation he disputes. Besides, claims the suit, employees at Nifty Fifty’s routinely don’t show up for work when they are supposed to, and they do not get fired.
Two days after Nifty Fifty’s fired him, Maru emailed Joseph Donnelly, operations manager for the Nifty Fifty’s brand, complaining about the discriminatory behavior and that he was terminated under false pretenses. According to the suit, Donnelly told Maru he would investigate but never got back to him. Maru also says he was never paid for 30 hours of work he performed during his last weeks of employment.
The suit accuses Nifty Fifty’s of racial discrimination, retaliation, and violation of wage laws and seeks unspecified damages. Donnelly did not return a phone call seeking comment.
