McDonald’s Worker Claims She Was Fired for Donating Food to Firefighters

She and other employees say they used their own money to pay for the meals against McDonald's wishes

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David Paul Morris / Getty Images

A photo illustration of a Happy Meal at McDonalds on November 3, 2010 in San Francisco, California

A former McDonald’s employee claims she was fired for donating food to fire fighters. The single mom was in nursing school and had worked for McDonald’s for eight years.

According to Heather Levia, she was contacted while working her shift by the Salvation Army. They asked if McDonald’s could donate some food to local firefighters who had been called to a nearby house earlier that day. Levia says she called the corporate office for approval, but they denied her request; so she and several coworkers used their own money to pay for the food.

The firefighters later called McDonald’s to complain that the chain had made Levia and her coworkers feel obligated to pay for their meals. Levia was fired on Feb. 14.

“I was told I was being fired for going against the wishes of McDonald’s as well has having my own opinion on not donating to the firefighters,” Levia told the Olean Times Herald. “I was so caught off-guard by this. I’m very distraught that I would be fired over something like this. I was just trying to give back to the firefighters and they weren’t asking for much.”

McDonald’s denied that she was let go because of the donations in an email to the Huffington Post.

[Olean Times Herald]