Teens fired from pizza jobs after they discovered unequal pay

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS — A teenager and her friend were both fired from their pizza parlor jobs - after she asked about getting equal pay.

Seventeen-year-old Jensen Walcott was excited for her interview at Pizza Studio in the Legends Outlet Mall,

Especially after hearing one of her good friends, 17-year-old Jake Reed had just been hired the same day.

That excitement turned to confusion after Jake told her, he was making $8.25 an hour.

She was hired for $8.00 an hour.

The two are the same age, have the same amount of experience and were hired for the same position.

Jensen thought for sure it was just a mix up and called her new boss, asking why her wage differed from Jake's. Her manager put her on hold.

"I was like maybe when I'm on hold right now, she will just offer me 8.25 and everything is gonna be good but..," said Jenson, "She didn't do that."

The manager got back on the phone and told Jensen she was fired because discussing wages is against their policy.

Soon after, Jake's phone rang too.

"She said you're fired. Basically just like a 10 second phone call," recalled Jake.

Both teens were terminated hours after being hired, for discussing their wages.

Attorney David White says the National Labor Relations Board has given guidance saying you can discuss wages. White believes Jensen may have a claim for retaliation.

"Probably what happened was because they're teenagers. They didn't think they'll complain," said White.

Jensen doesn't know if she will file any official action. She just wants to know, why she wasn't given the same pay as her friend.

Pizza Studio's CEO issued a statement apologizing to the teens saying: "We absolutely do not tolerate any kind of discrimination including gender discrimination."

They plan to offer them their jobs back.

The manager who initially fired the teens has been let go.

Cox Media Group