A Midwestern Mexican food chain temporarily shut down its Columbus, Ohio -area locations after employees at one store refused to fill an order for police officers, WSYX-TV reported.
Condado Tacos is a table-service Mexican restaurant with locations across parts of the Midwest. On Monday night, its location in the Polaris section of Columbus received an order of 500 tacos from the Ohio State Patrol. However, some employees inside the facility expressed that they did not feel comfortable filling the order, and even threatened to walk off their jobs if they were made to.
Specifically, “several” employees — apparently having been told by their regional manager to either make the tacos or lose their jobs — chose the latter option.
Employee Jake Widdowson said that for some of his colleagues, the choice was clear.
“It was pretty clear where the situation was going in so I just didn’t feel it was right to stick around, they kind of drew their line in the sand I think,” he said.
Further, as WBNS-TV reported, a number of employees took to social media to claim that they were fired for refusing to fill the order.
As it turns out, however, those workers may not have lost their jobs after all.
A spokesperson for the chain confirmed that it received the order and that multiple employees expressed discomfort with it. However, they added that those workers who walked out can return to their jobs if they want to.
“After a discussion with their regional manager about their concerns, were given the option to not work on the order. The employees who expressed their concerns chose to not complete their shift last night however, their jobs remain intact at Condado if they choose to return,” the representative said.
Further, the spokesperson noted that Condado Tacos is keen to foster an inclusive environment amongst its employees.
“We built Condado to be a place that is open to everyone, without judgment or fear, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for racism, prejudice and discrimination,” the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, all Columbus-area Condado locations were closed “out of an abundance of caution.” It remains unclear, as of this writing, when or if they will reopen.
The issue of workers at businesses refusing to serve police comes up from time to time in the news. For example, as reported by The Inquisitr , an employee of a Florida McDonald’s was fired in August 2019 after refusing to serve paramedics and saying “we don’t accept anyone with a badge.”
