Former Red Robin Employee Claims He Was Fired for Being Gay

In the midst of attempting to look holy and pious by offering a Lent special to convince the Pope to come visit, burger chain Red Robin has been slapped with a lawsuit for discrimination. According to LoHud, Brian Stone — a former general manager at an outpost in West Nyack, New York — claims that he was fired from the franchise for being gay.

Stone wants the wine milkshake-slinging restaurant to pay for his legal feels. and award him damages "for pain and suffering, anxiety, humiliation, physical injuries, and emotional stress." And, in a move that probably makes him the most dedicated Red Robin employee of all time, he wants his job back.

Stone had been working for the chain since 2006 and was transferred to the West Nyack location in 2013. He alleges in the federal lawsuit that the first time he met his boss Louis Tsourovakas he was told by Tsourovakas that he knew Stone "had a bad reputation." When Stone asked him to elaborate, Tsourovakas refused. Stone claims that Tsourovakas continued to harass him by "joking with another employee about Stone attending a gay pride parade in Miami and telling him in June 2014 'that he should look for a new job.'" Another manager then told Stone that Tsourovakas had hired one of his close friends to "replace him."

Stone says he went to HR to complain, but it went unanswered, and then he was placed on a probationary "performance improvement plan." While Tsourovakas eventually gave in and admitted that Stone was doing his job well, Stone was fired a few weeks later anyways.