The termination of a Toronto sports icon has fans, and his employment lawyer, crying foul.

Rogers Centre beer vendor, Wayne McMahon, also known as the “Ice…. Cold…. Beer Guy”, was abruptly terminated last Tuesday, July 8th by Aramark, the Rogers Centre food and beverage service provider. The alleged cause for termination, serving alcohol to a 22 year old mystery shopper, without asking for I.D.  McMahon denies the incident, stating that he hadnt been offered an opportunity to learn of, or even dispute the allegations against him.

Toronto sports fans have stepped up to the plate to back McMahon. A facebook petition has accumulated the support of nearly 3000 fans, calling for his reinstatement.  News articles about him have appeared in  Toronto newspapers such as the Globe & Mail and Toronto Sun.   McMahon’s own website (http://www.icecoldbeer.biz) is currently down because it has received too many hits, exceeding the server’s bandwidth allotment.

McMahon, whose unique sales pitch can be heard here, never had a poor performance review in his 7 year life as a beer hawker.  Daniel Lublin, who represents McMahon, has written to Aramark formally demanding his reinstatement.  If they disagree, McMahon will consider his options with a view to a wrongful dismissal claim.

The law of dismissal requires that discipline be judged in relation to its severity.  In this case, McMahon’s alleged actions would be balanced against his previous employment history, including his passing grade with previous mystery shoppers.

For more information contact Daniel Lublin’s office directly.

Daniel A. Lublin is a Toronto Employment Lawyer focussing on the law of wrongful dismissal.  He can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com