A former McDonald's employee in New Zealand claims that an Auckland chain of the franchise reprimanded him for being "too gay" on multiple occasions, resulting in protests from gay rights groups. A protest was held on Quay Street in Auckland on May 1 after New Zealand McDonald's employee Sean Bailey claimed that his management made homophobic remarks to him on numerous occasions.

Bailey accused his bosses at the McDonald's restaurant of telling him that he sounded "too gay" and not to "turn" his customers gay. He declared that the incidents made him "embarrassed" to return to work. The employee who reportedly harassed Bailey the most has since been moved to another branch of the McDonald's franchise in Auckland.

"One of my managers said, 'If you act gay on my shift, I will discipline you,'" he told OneNews. "He also said, 'If you turn anyone else in the store gay, I will punish you and make you lose your job. I had to call in sick just because I couldn't work with him, which meant I lost work hours and money."

The protest was led by Unite, a New Zealand workers' union that fights to improve workers' wages and work conditions. The organization is now trying to sponsor a same-sex "kiss-in" day at the restaurant.

"I think McDonald's have gone for the Catholic Church solution here. Rather than reprimand or fire someone for gross discrimination, they simply moved him to another store," said Unite rep Joe Carolan. "And I don't know how gay or lesbian people at that store feel about this manager there. Will it be another couple of months before we have a similar report there?"

A representative for McDonald's U.S. has previously said that similar incidents would not be tolerated at restaurants on U.S. soil.

"At McDonald's, we respect and value everyone," said the spokeswoman. "We have a strict policy prohibiting any form of discrimination in our restaurants. We recognize and appreciate individuals' rights and require all our restaurants to follow local, state and federal laws."