BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — A Bartlesville woman is suing McAlister’s Deli after claiming she was discriminated against while working there.
“I don’t want this to be a secret that gets swept under the rug. I want people to know what happened,” said Ashley Schmidt, former Assistant General Manager at McAlister’s Deli. “I have a rare genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa. What it does, it starts early in your teen years. First, it attacks your peripheral vision, your night vision, and then eventually it makes it where you go completely blind.”
Ashley became an assistant general manager at McAlister’s Deli in Bartlesville in April 2022. Everything changed when a new general manager took over.
“I am unsure what it was that triggered the treatment and behavior that I received from her,” said Ashley.
She said she was mistreated in front of her other co-workers.
“It was humiliating, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Ashley said.
Nichole Bell is a former McAlister’s Deli employee who worked with Ashley for almost two years.
“It makes the whole workplace hostile. It makes it hard to want to go to work every day when you see people sad and not having a good time,” Nichole said. “She would shake [her keys] like Ashley couldn’t see her [and] be like, ‘Hey, if you can’t see me, follow the keys. I am right here,’ and shaking the keys.”
Jevend Williams also saw the alleged discrimination. He worked for McAlister’s for four years, overlapping with Ashley.
“I was making sandwiches, and that was when she was talking about how she wouldn’t make [it] through EMT, and I was telling her she would make it,” Jevend said.
Ashley said the general manager’s behavior was the reason she quit in August 2024.
“There was a period where I was having panic attacks before work, just afraid to come to the store not knowing how I was going to be treated that day. It was absolutely miserable and detrimental on my mental health day-to-day,” Ashley said.
Both co-workers also left the restaurant.
“It was just horrible. The environment was horrible,” said Nichole.
“It’s just not a good environment, that’s why I ended up leaving,” Jevend said.
Ashley filed a discrimination lawsuit against McAlister’s Deli. Her attorney, Charles Wilkinsaid he rarely sees this kind of discrimination.
“I guess you might have in the 70s or whatever seen people do this overtly, like shaking keys and say ‘I am over here’ or tell someone with a vision disability to get down on the floor to see. Honestly, wedon’t [see] that much anymore,” said Wilkins.
Ashley hopes her legal action helps others.
“You have options. You can stand up for yourself. You don’t have to be treated like that, nor do you deserve thatespecially when you have a disability,” Ashley said.
FOX23 reached out to the McAlister’s Delis press email on April 17 and on May 5. We have not yet heard back.
