Chick-fil-A Under Fire After Director Claims Years of Abuse

A senior Black executive at a suburban Philadelphia Chick-fil-A says she was pushed out of her job after enduring nearly two years of relentless racism and homophobic harassment from the restaurant’s white franchise owner — allegations now laid out in a newly filed federal civil rights lawsuit.

The lawsuit lands at a moment when race, corporate accountability, and workplace culture remain flashpoints in the United States under President Donald Trump, whose administration has framed itself as both pro-business and hostile to what it calls “woke” corporate policies.

According to court filings reviewed by The Independent, Tiffany Lynch, 38, says she was subjected to daily bigoted remarks while working as executive director of operations at Chick-fil-A Wayne Square in Wayne, Pennsylvania — then fired after she pushed back.

Lynch was hired in December 2023 into one of the franchise’s top leadership roles. The position oversaw both front- and back-of-house operations and reported directly to owner-operator Joshua Grimm.

From the start, Lynch alleges, the workplace culture was toxic.

In her complaint, she says Grimm repeatedly used racial slurs in her presence, including the N-word, and made sweeping stereotypes about Black people. He allegedly claimed Black customers “smell,” “are going to be cheap,” and “require extra cleanup.”

“These comments happened whenever I saw him,” Lynch alleges in the filing.

The lawsuit states that Grimm openly described his upbringing as all-white and regularly told a story about meeting his “first Black person,” punctuating the anecdote with racial slurs for emphasis.

The alleged racism extended into hiring decisions, according to the complaint.

Lynch says Grimm questioned her judgment anytime she tried to hire a Black employee. He allegedly asked whether candidates were “Nasir Black,” referring to a well-spoken former employee, or “ghetto Black.”

“There were no concerns whatsoever with hiring a non-Black person from the inner city,” the complaint states. “But there was constant pushback when the applicant was Black.”

Lynch claims Grimm even disparaged well-dressed or affluent Black customers, reinforcing what she describes as “clear racism.”

Lynch, who is gay, also alleges Grimm repeatedly made homophobic comments.

According to the lawsuit, he would send her to retrieve items from a storage closet and joke that she might not come back “out of the closet,” or that he didn’t want her to “have to come out of the closet again.”

Lynch says she confronted Grimm directly, telling him his behavior was offensive and discriminatory. Instead of stopping, she alleges, his conduct escalated.

“I became quite vocal in objecting,” Lynch states in the complaint. “The comments were so intense and so frequent.”

Lynch says she attempted to formally report the behavior. But her complaints allegedly went nowhere.

Grimm’s sister handled human resources at the location, and Lynch claims her reports were never meaningfully investigated.

In November 2025, while Lynch was on a pre-approved five-day vacation, she says Grimm abruptly removed her from the work schedule and cut off her access to company email without warning.

At that point, Lynch contacted Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters, telling them she was “desperately seeking” help and outlining what she described as a long history of discrimination and retaliation.

According to the complaint, corporate responded that it was “unable to help.”

The next day, Lynch was fired.

Management cited “subpar performance.” Lynch calls that explanation false and retaliatory.

“Plaintiff believes her race was the motivating or determinative factor in the decision to terminate her employment,” the lawsuit states.

She is now suing JLL Hospitality LLC, which owns the Wayne Square franchise, along with Grimm individually.

Lynch is asking a federal judge to require Chick-fil-A to implement enforceable anti-discrimination policies and to award back pay, front pay, lost bonuses, and additional damages to be decided by a jury.

The lawsuit is not the first to accuse Chick-fil-A franchises of racial abuse.

In 2025, a Black employee at an Idaho Chick-fil-A sued after coworkers allegedly called him the N-word, compared him to an ape and a monkey, and threatened to cage him “like an animal.”

Chick-fil-A has long branded itself as a company guided by Christian values. Chairman Dan T. Cathy has said the chain operates “based on biblical principles,” seeking divine guidance in decisions about people and partnerships.

Grimm himself was highlighted in a 2023 company press release as a former teen Chick-fil-A worker who left a career in civil engineering to become a franchise owner. The release noted that he and his family were active in church and enjoyed traveling together.

In 2024, then-candidate Trump famously stopped at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, praising the chain’s food as “the Lord’s chicken.”

Lynch’s lawsuit argues that, behind the religious branding, her experience told a very different story.

Neither Chick-fil-A nor Grimm responded to requests for comment. Attorneys representing the franchise and its owner have also not replied.

Grimm and the Wayne Square franchise have until March 31 to formally respond in court.