CHICOPEE, Mass. — A Massachusetts state agency has ruled that there is probable cause to believe a McDonald’s restaurant in Chicopee discriminated against a Muslim family by allegedly serving a pork product to a child, despite religious prohibitions and a specific request for a plain meal.
The incident occurred in 2021 when Ghadir Alahmar, a Muslim woman who wears a hijab and abaya, ordered a plain Filet-O-Fish sandwich for her 7-year-old son. According to a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in 2022, the sandwich was served with bacon, a violation of the family’s religious dietary restrictions.
The lawsuit claims that McDonald’s employees “intentionally and maliciously discriminated” against Alahmar and her family, adding multiple layers of bacon to the sandwich and charging for the extra topping, despite her explicit order for a plain fish sandwich. Alahmar’s legal team alleges that the large amount of bacon was added deliberately as an act of religious discrimination.
In October, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) issued a finding of probable cause in Alahmar’s favor, moving the case forward. According to the MCAD’s decision, “A fact-finder may reasonably conclude that [McDonald’s] staff perceived [Alahmar] and her family to be Muslim based on her dressing in the Hijab and a long gown, and her difference in national origin based on her accent.” The agency further noted that one McDonald’s employee was reportedly aware of the Islamic prohibition against consuming pork products, raising questions about the possibility that the bacon was not served in error.
The probable cause ruling means the case will proceed to a public hearing unless McDonald’s settles or the parties reach an agreement. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination has not provided a timeline for when the hearing will take place.
