Whataburger Worker Claims She Was Ordered To Clean Dining Room, Bathroom Floors With A Toothbrush

(KHOU-11)

Part of the job of a fast food employee is to keep the restaurant clean — but one Texas Whataburger worker who works as a cook claims she was humiliated when managers ordered her to clean the dining room floor and both the men’s and women’s restrooms, allegedly using only the humble toothbrush as her tool.

In addition to that, she claims that she’s been the subject of repeated jokes and insults about her weight, she tells KHOU-11.

”I just let it get to me because you hear it over and over and over,” she said.

But she said the order she received from a manager was even worse than the alleged insults: “She said we’ve got to get on our hands and knees and clean the floor with a toothbrush.”

Her mother shot a cell phone video of her daughter working on the floors through a window, where the brush does appear to be larger than a toothbrush, but it’s still a small brush. The worker says she was on her hands and knees for four hours cleaning all the floors, and injured her knees during the process. She’s filed a workman’s comp claim as well as a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

A Whataburger spokesperson didn’t address the alleged jokes and insults, but disputes the idea that she was given a toothbrush to clean the floors, saying the tool provided was a tile and grout hand brush, saying in a statement:

“One of our Core Values at Whataburger is to treat others with respect. We also pride ourselves in providing a safe and clean working environment. Therefore we ask all of our employees at all levels to participate in keeping our restaurants clean for our customers. Cleaning with proper cleaning equipment is standard operating procedure for all our restaurants.”

While the worker says the physical pain will likely go away, the emotional pain caused by the task lingers.

“It makes me feel so disgusted,” she said.

Whataburger employee says she was ordered to clean the floor with a toothbrush [KHOU-11]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist