Lawsuit: Former Mad Mex manager was fired for seeking time off after domestic violence attack

A Pittsburgh woman is suing Mad Mex and its parent company, alleging she was fired for requesting time off for medical treatment and court appearances after a domestic violence attack.

The woman, a former manager at the restaurant’s Waterworks mall location, alleged in a lawsuit she was met with roadblocks when she tried to take time off to get treatment for a concussion and to appear in court for a protection-from-abuse order against her husband.

She was asked to resign her management position and later fired, she said in the lawsuit filed this week. She had been working at the chain since January 2019 and in a management position since August.

The Tribune-Review does not name victims of domestic violence. Officials at Mad Mex’s parent company, Big Burrito Restaurant Group, could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was attacked by her husband in November 2019, and he was subsequently arrested. The woman said she kept her manager apprised of the situation, as she was scheduled to work that night.

The lawsuit alleges that when she texted her manager, Beth Schmidt, about the attack, Schmidt responded, “Sorry … I’m dealing with a bunch of (expletive) here.” When the woman told her manager that paramedics suggested she go to a hospital for concussion treatment, she was told to go to the hospital and then “you can come here.”

The woman chose not to go to the hospital, according to the lawsuit, because she feared she would miss her shift and be fired.

A week or so later, the woman requested a meeting with Schmidt and the regional manager, Matt Glick, to talk about how to deal with the time off she would need as the court case continued. The lawsuit alleges that Schmidt replied via text with, “We need to sit down and figure out if this is going to be an issue with you working (because) I can’t have this happen every week.”

According to the lawsuit, the pattern of seeming indifference continued as more court dates were scheduled, and the woman said Schmidt asked her in late November if she would resign as manager and go back to being a server.

The woman said no but later acquiesced when Glick asked her. She was fired Dec. 7, according to the lawsuit. She said she had never called off or had any disciplinary write-ups before she was allegedly attacked by her husband.

The lawsuit, filed by Christi Wallace of MKO Employment Law, alleges that Mad Mex violated the Pennsylvania Crime Victims Employment Act, which protects crime victims from retribution by employers.