Burger King has issued a response following the firing of an employee who managed an entire store alone for 12 hours.
Nykia Hamilton, a mother of three, took on multiple roles at a Burger King in Columbia, South Carolina, when her coworkers did not come for their shifts. She handled the kitchen, the register, and the drive-thru all by herself.
As the lines of customers grew both inside the store and in the drive-thru, a customer captured a video of the 25-year-old managing every task at the fast-food outlet. The video went viral, turning Nykia into a social media sensation. However, this sudden fame attracted media attention, leading to interviews with local TV stations. Eventually, she was removed from her job.
A Reddit user speculated about the reasons behind Nykia’s termination: “Well, she’s clearly embarrassing the company, so corporate had to fire her before she again reveals they underpay and understaff. What sucks is that it wasn’t even her doing for going viral.”
Burger King has now addressed the situation and the rumors surrounding Nykia’s dismissal.
“No Team Member should ever be left to run a restaurant alone, even for a short period of time. That’s not how we operate, and we’re disappointed that our policy, which requires more than one Team Member to work per shift, wasn’t followed,” stated the company.
The company further elaborated, “Terminations are the decision of the franchisees who own and operate the BK restaurant. In this situation, the franchisee confirmed that the individual involved is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues.”
“While we can’t share more on individual personnel matters, we’re focused on making sure every restaurant, whether company or franchise-run, has the staffing and support needed to take care of our Team Members and deliver the kind of experience our Guests expect.”
Nykia was told by her manager on August 8 that she was being let go because she was often late, a situation she attributed to the challenges of parenting.
“[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,” she explained to Watch Fox 57. “My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing.”
Previously juggling two jobs to support her family, Nykia has launched a GoFundMe campaign, highlighting that she did not seek the viral attention she received.
“I am a 25-year-old single mom of 3 who works 2 jobs. I just went viral for working on TikTok. If you wanna contribute, it’s OK. Thank y’all for the support,” she stated in the campaign description.
“I wasn’t expecting my life to change how it did. I really do everything for my kids.”
Remarkably, her fundraising efforts have garnered over $90,000 to aid in supporting her family.