White coworkers who damaged equipment got verbal warnings. He got fired. Now he's suing
A Florida warehouse worker says he lost his job over a burger run, while White coworkers who damaged equipment walked away with verbal warnings.
Rodricus Jonas, who is African American/Black, worked the overnight shift as a Palletizer Operator at a Primo Brands water bottling plant in Lee, Florida, for just over two years. According to a lawsuit filed on April 23, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, he was fired in July 2025 for what his managers called "stealing time." Jonas says the real reason was race.
The suit, Jonas v. BlueTriton Brands, Inc., et al., No. 4:26-cv-00199, names BlueTriton Brands and Primo Brands Corporation — the nationwide bottled water company formed by a July 2024 merger — and claims violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. §1981, a federal law that guarantees equal rights in making and enforcing contracts, including employment.
Jonas was hired in June 2023 at $21.50 an hour. He says he worked the night shift, roughly 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., and over the next two years earned multiple raises, ending at $26.50 an hour plus differentials. The filing states he was never written up, warned, or suspended during his tenure.
That changed on the evening of July 22, 2025. Jonas says his supervisor, Danny Thompson, told him to park his forklift and meet up front, where the Operations Manager, Dallas Premier, was waiting. According to the filing, Premier told him, "Let's get straight to the point, I'm going to terminate you," and accused him of leaving the premises without clocking out — a reference, Jonas says, to a break he took about ten days earlier to grab a hamburger and fries at the Manor House restaurant. Jonas says he asked to see the time-clock records, arguing he had clocked out as usual. He says none were produced.
About a week later, Jonas says, a written Report of Termination followed, citing "gross misconduct of stealing time by leaving work without clocking out."
The part of the suit likely to resonate most with HR leaders is what comes next. Jonas points to three White coworkers at the same plant who, he says, were treated far more gently. One Packer was suspended — not fired — after alleged misconduct. Another worker who hit a pole with a forklift got a verbal warning. A fellow Palletizer Operator who struck an overhead line got the same. Jonas also alleges that while many of the line workers at the Lee facility are Black, nearly all of the managers, including his supervisor and the operations manager, are White.
He is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and a jury trial.
The allegations have not been tested in court. BlueTriton and Primo Brands have not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims.
