Huffingtonpost.com - A 6-year veteran Wendy's worker in Alabama is alleging that management fired her for "job abandonment" while she was being treated for an ovarian cyst that would require surgery.

In a lawsuitfiled in federal court Friday, Jamila Richey accuses Wendy's of Bowling Green, Inc. of dropping her from the store schedule after two absences due to the cyst. According to Richey, she provided a doctor's note to prove she was sick and would have to be hospitalized.

Richey says in the lawsuit that she learned through coworkers that her manager "told everyone [she] had abandoned her job." After a series of meetings with managers, Richey alleges, she was told "she should not come back to work."

Mike O'Malley, the franchisee of the restaurant, said he had been unaware of the lawsuit or its allegations until contacted by HuffPost. O'Malley said he was concerned by the claims and would try to rectify the situation if they were true. Continue