Did Plug Power Seriously Fire a New York Man for Where He Ate?

A hydrogen energy company terminated Cody Pinkins (@official_cjpinkins), a Rochester, New York, tech professional, for taking breaks in the wrong room. Now, he’s threatening to take the matter to court.

In a viral video, Pinkins is filming himself inside his truck and takes a call from his boss at Plug Power, a company that deals in hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzer systems. The boss, who identified himself as Ken, asked Pinkins, “Just let me kinda get through this, please.”

Ken then informed Pinkins of his termination and the reason.

“On Wednesday, 1/28/2026, you had an incident where you were taking a break in an unauthorized area, in the conference room,” he said over the phone. “After repeated reminders not to do this, as I’ve communicated multiple times before and then again on that date as well, you violated multiple policies, and your behavior and actions were inappropriate for the workplace. As a result, Cody, your employment with Plug Power is terminated effective immediately.”

Then a woman, likely from human resources, tells Pinkins that the company will send his personal belongings.

Pinkins responded, “So, even though I had permission to be in that room from Anthony, and I got harassed, and I told Ken several times I was getting harassed, I guess that’s OK? That’s the route we’re gonna take?”

Ken tells him, “Cody, I wish you the best of luck in the future.”

Pinkins, before hanging up, added, “That’s the route we’re gonna take? I’ll see y’all in court.”

A relevant comment from a former supervisor raised an important question.

“As a supervisor for six years, I can say this professionally: if the employee handbook clearly identifies the designated break area and its location, that is the ONLY approved space for breaks,” she wrote. “Even if someone gives permission to use a different room, it does NOT override company policy. That room is not authorized for breaks, and after multiple warnings, continued violations can result in termination … You will not [win] this in court.”

Pinkins will likely position his argument on whether there is a fully documented explanation of what constitutes a break area. However, Pinkins laughed this idea off, suggesting there likely was no explicit documentation.

Pinkins has another video, posted before his termination, where he runs down a situation that had just occurred while sitting in the conference room. He claimed that a person who “never works” and was not his supervisor came in and said he didn’t want people eating in that room, as he had said before. Pinkins held his tongue but told viewers he wasn’t the only one who ate in the room and that he didn’t care that the supervisor was in a position of authority.

Does He Have a Case?

On its face, Pinkins faces a fairly steep climb. New York is an at-will employment state, which means Plug Power doesn’t need a good reason to fire him. They just need a legal one. The stated reason (insubordination, repeated policy violations) is legally and easily defensible.

His strongest potential claim includes a retaliation angle. During the call, Pinkins stated he reported harassment to Ken multiple times. If he retained documentation of harassment complaints, such as emails, texts, HR filings, and witness statements, it would strengthen his case.

If he can show that his termination followed the reporting of his harassment rather than being genuinely about the conference room, he could argue for a claim of retaliatory discharge. Under New York Human Rights Law and federal protections, employers cannot legally terminate workers for reporting workplace harassment.

A person in the comments section asked, “Do they have a paper trail or documentation stating this?” Pinkins replied, “Not one piece.” This leaves Plug Power in an interesting spot: if Ken, presumably his boss, didn’t write a report, termination could be seen as retaliatory.

Further, Pinkins must prove that a supervisor named Anthony gave him permission to use the conference room. If Anthony were willing to confirm that permission, it would somewhat undercut the insubordination rationale. It might also help that Plug Power does not have a sparkling workplace record.

If he’s got his documentation in order, then a meeting with an employment attorney could be a good idea. If not, he could even have a struggle with unemployment, depending on whether Plug Power really wanted to needle him.

AllHipHop has reached out to Pinkins via TikTok direct message and to Plug Power via email. We will update the story upon response.

@official_cjpinkins This ladies and gentlemen is the man I did not want to mention in the last video, but here we go. Today I got a call from my Manager Kenneth Saunders and was told I was being let go. Even after being falsely accused and never getting to tell my side of the story, I was terminated. Part 3 coming in the near future. #PlugPowerChronicles #fyp #EEOC #GodisGood ♬ original sound – CJ Pinkins

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