How Hot Grease Got An Arby's Employee Arrested

It's no secret that working in restaurants requires serious attention to safety measures, especially when operating a deep fryer. If we had to guess, you needn't be told twice that boiling-hot oil isn't something you want coming into contact with bare skin. While many fast food workers are careful not to injure themselves or others in the kitchen, there have been some controversies and unfortunate incidents regarding hot grease in the workplace. 

In 1991, a Colorado woman was performing routine cleaning of exhaust filters when she partially fell into a deep fryer, scalding her arm and shoulder to the point where she needed plastic surgery, per the CDC. In 2015, McDonald's was accused of not providing employees with the right equipment for handling and cleaning frying equipment, instructing them to soothe burns with condiments such as mayo and ketchup (via Mother Jones). Suffice it to say, hot oil is a common, but dangerous, necessity in the world of fast food, and it requires both companies and employees to ensure that proper safety procedures are followed. Unfortunately, one Arby's worker used scalding grease as a weapon during a recent drive-thru dispute.

In Hueytown, Alabama, a recent Saturday afternoon at a local Arby's drive-thru became a scene of horror when an employee tossed hot fryer grease onto a customer in the drive-thru lane. As the Hueytown Police Department describes on Facebook, officers arrived following a call that there was an "altercation" between the employee and the customer about an unknown matter. The customer was rushed to the hospital while the employee was taken into custody. No other injuries were reported.

Disturbingly, this isn't the first time hot grease has been used in physical arguments between fast food staff and customers, according to Newsweek. In October of 2021, a Tennessee Wendy's manager dumped a pan of hot oil over a customer after they complained about their food being cold. The manager was arrested, while the customer was last reported to have been "not in a good condition." In 2018, a Checkers in Philadelphia was also the scene of a drive-thru hot oil attack, when three women were burned by an employee over yet another order dispute (via New York Post).