Bias Complaint Filed by Fired Bus Driver

Attorney Gloria Allred filed a discrimination complaint Monday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of an Orange County transit bus driver fired last week for refusing to hand out coupons for free Carl’s Jr. hamburgers.

Bruce Anderson, a 38-year-old vegetarian, said the request by his employer, the Orange County Transit Authority, to distribute the coupons to bus riders violated his spiritual beliefs.

Allred, known for taking cases involving civil liberties, issued an ultimatum to the transit agency to reinstate Anderson within 72 hours or face a lawsuit.

Anderson, a bus driver for five years, said that being fired ruined his plans to spend the rest of his career with the transit authority.

A transit agency spokesman said the discrimination complaint would not change the agency’s position that Anderson was properly discharged for failing to do something that was part of his job.