Food Worker, Fired for Eating Chicken, Loses Suit

An amusement park kitchen worker who claims he was wrongly fired for eating a $2.10 piece of fried chicken on his break failed to convince a jury that such free samples were part of his job.

Jurors Monday rejected Jorge Ortiz’s claim that he was wrongly terminated from Knott’s Berry Farm Chicken Dinner. He contended that as a food processor, he was allowed an occasional taste test.

But Knott’s lawyers stressed that the policy clearly prohibits employees from taking food out of the kitchen, and they presented evidence that other employees had been fired for stealing chicken, soup, an orange or a salad.

Ortiz, who worked 16 years at the amusement park in Buena Park, was fired in January.