Skip to main content

McDonald’s Hit With Proposed Class Action Alleging “Culture of Sexual Harassment”


Last Tuesday, McDonald’s was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit, alleging that the company and one of its Michigan franchises engaged in unlawful sexual harassment.

In the complaint, filed in a federal court in Michigan, a former employee complained that a co-worker assaulted her, groped her, and called her names in front of other co-workers.  Complaints to management apparently did not remedy the situation.  When the sexual harassment allegedly extended beyond a year, the victim was transferred to another location but her alleged attacker remained.

The lawsuit, which seeks more than $5 million in damages, seeks class action status.  Whether a class will be certified is unclear at this time, but with a growing number of sexual harassment claims having been asserted against McDonald’s as of late, it is possible this class will be certified (which would expand the scope of claimants and potential recovery.)  With that being said, the American Civil Liberties Union, Fight for $15, and Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund are all proving support to the complaint.

While the termination of McDonald’s CEO in recent weeks (for engaging in a consensual relationship with another employee) does not necessarily impact this proposed class action, it is another string of bad press for the company.


For a copy of the complaint:  https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/ries-v-mcdonalds-michigan-state-court-complaint

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more