Latest news with #Obeng
Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
In-N-Out former employee files $3-million lawsuit, saying he was fired over his hairstyle
In-N-Out Burger is being sued for at least $3 million by a former employee for alleged racial discrimination involving the employee's hairstyle, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court filing. According to the suit, 21-year-old Elijah Obeng, who is Black, said he experienced severe emotional distress after he was unfairly targeted by the burger chain's dress code. The dress code requires its employees to wear company-issued hats with their hair tucked in, and male employees must be clean-shaven, the lawsuit says. An In-N-Out corporate representative could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit. Obeng worked at the Compton In-N-Out location for a little less than four years. As his hair grew, he began receiving orders to change his hairstyle so it could remain contained in the company-issued hat. He began wearing braids to comply, but management still took issue with Obeng's sideburns, which he considered important to his cultural identity, according to the lawsuit. Obeng began to be treated differently at work after resisting the orders to shave, the lawsuit said. Management criticized his work more frequently than his fellow employees, and he was denied opportunities for promotions, according to the suit. In May 2024, Obeng's supervisor sent him home to shave his sideburns and then return, according to the filing. This was done in front of his co-workers, and he felt 'publicly humiliated,' the suit said. Obeng did not follow these orders and instead texted his supervisor that he would return for his next shift. A couple days later, he was fired, the lawsuit said. In-N-Out said the termination was due to prior write-ups, but Obeng believed it to be a discriminatory action in retaliation to his resistance against the dress code policies, the filing said. The suit said that In-N-Out has allegedly violated the CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair. This California law prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of an employee's hairstyle or hair texture. 'This policy disproportionately burdened Black employees whose natural hair may not conform to such grooming standards,' the lawsuit said. In-N-Out's alleged discrimination has caused Obeng 'anxiety, humiliation, and loss of dignity,' the suit said.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Int'l student dies in Vizag
Visakhapatnam: A 31-year-old foreign national, Lartey Ivan Obeng Sunyani City in the Republic of Ghana, died due to severe fever and vomiting in the early hours of Wednesday. Obeng was a first-year MBA student at Andhra University School of International Business (AUSIB). Obeng resided at YMCA international students boys' hostel. The AU officials informed the Ghana high commission in Delhi about his death. The Three-Town police station SHO received a complaint from Dr NM Yugandhar, who is associate professor of the chemical engineering wing, chief warden of international boys hostel and associate dean of international affairs. Dr Yugandhar stated that Obeng died at KGH due to seizure. After he complained of vomiting and high fever, his friends Twene Collins, Samuel Morfo, Michael Adu, and Abraham took him to a corporate hospital in Ramnagar at 3 am on Wednesday. Doctors who examined Obeng, found that he was experiencing seizures with involuntary defecation and losing consciousness. These indicated he was in a postictal state. Emergency incubation, ventilator support, and supportive medication were advised. He was then shifted to KGH, where a casualty doctor examined him and declared him brought dead at 6.12 am on Wednesday. A case was registered at Three-Town police station under section 194 of BNS.
