A vicious brawl between a California high school cafeteria worker and students broke out after a pupil refused to listen to the employee's plea to dispose of trash.

The fight occurred in at Chaffey Joint Union High School in Ontario in an outdoors student area around noon and was caught on Snapchat video.

The clip from Wednesday sees the employee in a cap and green shirt standing chest to chest with a group of students. He throws his hands up as if beckoning them to initiate a fight.

A California high school cafeteria worker got into a fight with a mob of students and the brawl was all caught on tape on Snapchat video

The video sees the man in the green shirt and cap throw punches to several students

Standstill: The clip sees the employee stand in front of a group of students. When one gets too close, he pushes them back, which stirs the students to start punching him

When a student wearing a red hoodie gets too close, he pushes the student back, inciting the group of young pupils to jump on the worker with a series of blows.

The cafeteria worker then throws punches back. The video sees him hit multiple students with great force.

Soon a mass of students gather to watch the fight, several throwing their own punches. The students herd the worker fighting back towards the front of a nearby car where they encircle him and the worker ends up on the ground.

According to students at the scene of the fight, the brawl broke out after the employee asked a student to dispose of some trash.

Instead of listening the student swung a punch at the cafeteria worker, who then hit back.

High school security and staff immediately broke up the fight.

No serious injuries were reported.

The school: The fight took place at Chaffey Joint Union High School in Ontario, California

The fight started when the worker asked a student to pick up trash. The student responded to the request by punching the worker

The employee, above in green, was caught on tape hitting several students with force

High school Superintendent Mathew Holton confirmed in a statement that trash left in the area where the students sat incited the confrontation.

'The employee has been placed on administrative leave and seven students involved are not at school today (Thursday), pending results of the investigation,' Holton said.

'It’s amazing…the disrespect we have for staff members,' sophomore Jared Winslow said to KTLA5.

'If he wouldn't have pushed that kid, maybe that wouldn't have happened,' Winslow said to ABC7.

Another pupil described the fight as just 'dumb'.

'It was just dumb. This kid littered on the floor basically and then the janitor got mad, like, pick it up,' student Alfredo Alvarado also said to ABC7.

A third pupil said the incident could have been avoided.

'[The janitor] could have been a little more mature and taken it more serious, and taken it to the principal instead, and not actually fight back to the students,' Marian Ramirez said.