The state has fined a Bloomfield restaurant $1,000 for posting a job listing asking for men only.

A sign was posted at Gyro King on Bloomfield Avenue April 20 and was taken down after a couple of days due to complaints. The owners say that there was a very specific reason they were seeking only men.

“It’s not an easy job. We need someone to handle the job,” says co-owner Nazir Ahmad.

Co-owner Amir Ahmad adds, “My intention was actually for a heavy-lifting job.”

But it is illegal for an employer to discriminate based on gender. The owners have since apologized and were ordered to go through discrimination training. But they say that they are not sexist and only wanted to hire someone they thought would be up for the tasks required for the job.

“I’ve been here for almost 20 years and I've never looked at males or females in a different category. We are all equal,” says Amir.

"We are sorry to Bloomfield. Everyone is welcomed here and everyone is loved equally,” Nazir says.

There aren’t any women working at the restaurant currently, but women have worked at their other locations in the past. The Ahmads say that they hope to hire more women in the future.