Teen working for California-based pizza chain says she was fired after asking for equal wage

FOX Kansas City FOX Kansas City Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Teen working for California-based pizza chain says she was fired after asking for equal wage 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Jensen Walcott easily got a summer job at a Kansas City, Kansas slice house franchise called Pizza Studio. After being hired on the spot, the 17-year-old was told she'd be making $8 an hour — slightly higher than the state's $7.25 minimum. She was also thrilled to find out she'd be working alongside a friend of hers named Jake Reed.

That excitement didn't last long; she soon discovered that Reed, who was also 17, had comparable work experience, and was working the same position, was hired at $8.25 an hour.

Walcott told Fox Kansas City that when she called her manager to ask about the pay difference, she was initially put on hold.

"I was like maybe when I'm on hold right now, she will just offer me $8.25 and everything is gonna be good but... she didn't do that," Walcott said. When she was taken off hold, her manager fired her, saying she could do so because "discussing wages is against its policy."

A similar fate met Reed. "She said you're fired. Basically just like a 10 second phone call," he told Fox.

As attorney David White confirms, the National Labor Relations Board maintains that employees may discuss pay with each other, meaning that Walcott was in the right. He thinks that Walcott and Reed may have a case against the Calabasas, California-based pizza chain, though the two haven't decided yet if they will take legal action.

As the American Association of University Women found, for the year 2014, women in Kansas earned just $0.79 for each dollar men in Kansas did. That rate is slightly higher in California.

Meanwhile, Pizza Studio recently opened its second Bay Area franchise location inside Concord's Sunvalley Mall.

UPDATE: Pizza Studio has responded to SFGATE's request for comment, saying that after fully investigating the incident, that "gender did not play a role in determination of either salary, nor for any Pizza Studio employee." Ashleigh Siefker, the organization's Executive Director of Operations, says that she has "personally instituted policies and procedures that strictly prohibit discrimination of any kind."

Siefker adds:

"After an in-depth review, we are confident this instance was not one of gender-bias but rather a failure to assign the correct salary and a misunderstanding of our company policies by one of our employees; it should be noted the manager in communication with Miss Walcott is also a female.

"Pizza Studio did not agree however with how the manager handled the situation. We pride ourselves with treating our employees and guests with respect and open communication at all times. We have extended a formal apology to both Miss Walcott and Mr. Reed and have parted ways with the responsible manager in the best interest of all parties involved. We plan to use this experience to better improve our hiring procedures and policies moving forward."



Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.