{"id":2140793,"date":"2026-09-11T23:59:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T20:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2140793"},"modified":"2026-09-11T23:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T20:59:58","slug":"wendys-manager-fired-after-tying-neurodivergent-employee-to-kitchen-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2140793","title":{"rendered":"Wendy\u2019s Manager Fired After Tying Neurodivergent Employee to Kitchen Equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/79\/16by9\/2026\/09\/11\/7963fc306097478096b3e8cfcdbdbb41_xl.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"article article--permalink \">\n<header class=\"article__header\">\n<h1 class=\"article__header--headline-title\">Wendy\u2019s Manager Fired After Tying Neurodivergent Employee to Kitchen Equipment<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__header--headline-fragments\"><span class=\"article__header--hf1 text-uppercase h3\">Wendy\u2019s Manager<\/span><span class=\"article__header--hf2 text-uppercase h1\">Sacked for Tying Neurodivergent Employee to Kitchen Equipment<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"social-media-container\" role=\"region\">\n<ul class=\"social social--sm\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\"><\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tmz.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"google-preferred-btn js-track-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-btn__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/static.tmz.com\/tmz-web\/img\/article\/google-icon.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"google-preferred-btn__title\">Add TMZ on Google<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"byline\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/pages\/about\/\">TMZ Staff<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"date-wrapper\">\n                                                                        Published <time class=\"published-datetime\" datetime=\"2026-09-11T16:59:58-07:00\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/sitemaps\/article\/202609\"><br \/>\n                September 11, 2026<br \/>\n                <\/a><br \/>\n                            4:59 PM PDT<\/time><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article__blocks clearfix\">\n<section id=\"cb-8a42b1689393bbca479ce9866a48f4a3\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  canvas-block-is-first \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20260911_7963fc306097478096b3e8cfcdbdbb41\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:e1e3e4b4-b5e8-4fb4-a5ef-8d5bd5bc1fac\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/79\/4by3\/2026\/09\/11\/7963fc306097478096b3e8cfcdbdbb41_md.jpg\" alt=\"Wendys getty main\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-281b36751fd1a28df37f56c0b0439bff\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>The manager of a Tennessee Wendy\u2019s who admitted to tying a neurodivergent employee to kitchen equipment has been fired.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-5d9450f23a31e6daba37c50ed1644c52\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Another Wendy\u2019s employee, <strong>Nicholus Murphy<\/strong>, caught the alarming incident on video, which showed his coworker tied to the equipment with trash bags.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-936867ffe56aec13ed559187759ff645\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>According to the police report, manager <strong>Michiko Burton<\/strong> tied the employee up \u2026 and Murphy tells <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox5vegas.com\/2026\/09\/11\/wendys-employee-accused-tying-neurodivergent-worker-kitchen-equipment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>WSMV<\/strong><\/a>she allegedly told workers she needed him to \u201cstay put\u201d so she could work in the back.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-4023e89ffd132bcc2a78a5951f3fdce9\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Murphy told the outlet \u2026 \u201cI actually felt sad for him. I actually wanted to cry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-a9ea33524eb5152a2b0f253780b930f3\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>The police report says Burton claimed it was for a TikTok trend and was just a joke. When Murfreesboro police interviewed the employee &#8230; he reportedly told them he wasn\u2019t hurt or upset, and no charges were filed.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-a513dbc385945a8f5ccc73edb25579b1\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Regardless, an area manager called the incident \u201cunacceptable\u201c during a recorded meeting with employees. The restaurant\u2018s general manager reportedly confirmed Burton had been fired because of it.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-ea8e37ee92f9595ce4eac11afdd7e18e\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Wendy\u2019s of Bowling Green said in a statement \u2026 \u201cThe safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority. This behavior is inconsistent with our values and the standards we expect in our restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-1a7b1d9b8f0c2f9daeca370e27a81efc\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>The statement continued \u2026 \u201cUpon learning of the situation, it was promptly investigated and appropriate action was taken. We remain committed to maintaining a respectful workplace where all employees are treated with dignity and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-778b3a4cc6efc1e084a4840a6902f6f7\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  canvas-block-is-last \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>And now, the employee\u2019s family is asking police to reopen the investigation.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<ul class=\"social social--permalink\">\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--facebook js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/09\/11\/wendys-manager-fired-for-tying-neurodivergent-worker-to-kitchen-equipment\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:e1e3e4b4-b5e8-4fb4-a5ef-8d5bd5bc1fac\" 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[&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,77],"class_list":["post-2140793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tmz-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2140793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2140793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2140793\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2140793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2140793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2140793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}