Approximately 40 people demonstrated outside a Downtown Berkeley McDonald's Tuesday afternoon to protest the dismissal of four employees from the restaurant.

The protesters cited discrimination as a factor for the dismissals, which occurred in March just days after a new owner took over the franchise located near the intersection of Shattuck and University avenues. Some of those fired suffer from disabilities, but worked at the McDonald's for several years under different ownership.

Lisa Craib, one of the dismissed employees who worked at the restaurant for 21 years, filed a discrimination complaint last week under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Management at the McDonald's Tuesday afternoon would not comment about the protest or Craib's complaint.

Bob Allamand, who demonstrated at the McDonald's on Tuesday and formerly served on the Berkeley Commission on Disability, said he believed Craib and her former co-workers should receive compensation and benefits as members of the disabled community.

"In the tradition of McDonald's, I think those should be Super Sized," Allamand said.

Nick Moore of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.