Abuela to the rescue! Social media star pushes Burger King to help sick employee in Miami
No one is more concerned about your health than abuelita, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this case, it’s Jenny Lorenzo, the Miami-born Cuban American social media star whose Abuela character is an internet sensation. You can count on Abuela to extol the powers of Vick’s Vaporub, the importance of wearing a sweater at all times and of course, having a daily dose of cafecito.
But this week, Lorenzo used her vast social media following to contact Burger King when her best friend’s mother, a Burger King employee in Miami, developed flu-like symptoms similar to those of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Lorenzo says the manager Informed her friend’s mother that if she didn’t return to work, she would be fired.
“Well - it got worse,” Lorenzo said on Twitter Thursday. “Her manager told her yesterday that, “she will not defy her and come into work bc COVID-19 doesn’t exist in her store.”
Miami-headquartered Burger King told the Miami Herald that the company was investigating the allegations and that no employees at the location had reported any symptoms relating to the flu or COVID-19.
“There is nothing more important to us than the safety and wellbeing of our team members and guests. We have looked into the matter and are continuing to investigate to ensure it was handled in accordance with our strict standards,” Burger King said in an emailed statement Thursday.
The company said its corporate restaurant employees have up to two-weeks of paid sick leave for COVID-19 related health concerns. Burger King said it would also be giving a “special reward” to corporate team members in April for their service during the pandemic.
About an hour after the Miami Herald contacted Burger King, Lorenzo gave an update online about the situation and thanked her fans for retweeting the post, replying and “flooding” the Burger King location with phone calls.
“We reached out to the proper contacts and things are getting worked out. The manager involved in this mess is now having to go through many meetings with higher ups,” Lorenzo tweeted at 5:18 p.m. Thursday. “Not sure what will happen next, but my friend’s mom is now protected. THANK YOU!”
Lorenzo, who now lives in Los Angeles, first began tweeting about the incident Monday, saying the family had tried calling corporate, HR and OSHA but had not been able to get the situation resolved.
“Not only is this dangerous for my friend’s mom but it’s also putting employees and customers at risk if she does, in fact, have COVID-19,” Lorenzo tweeted at the time. “What can we do to ensure she doesn’t lose her job by doing the right thing and staying home, @BurgerKing.”
Lorenzo has since deleted her Instagram post about the incident and has said on Twitter that she will be helping her friend’s mother find another job.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
