McDonald's Faces $500 Million Sexual Harassment Lawsuit In The US

McDonald’s Corp. has been embroiled in a rather murky controversy—of allegedly turning a deaf ear towards the prevailing sexual harassment that female workers were subjected to.

A lawsuit that was filed Friday, April 10 in federal court in Chicago, where it was categorically mentioned the popular fast-food chain’s ineptitude in tackling workplace abuse. This lawsuit is restricted to only corporate-owned stores.

However, the organization was quick to retaliate and release an official statement suggesting that further probe was underway. The statement read: “The plaintiffs’ allegations of harassment and retaliation were investigated as soon as they were brought to our attention, and we will likewise investigate the new allegations that they have raised in their complaint.”

The issue came to light after two plaintiffs’—McDonald’s employee Jamelia Fairley and former employee Ashley Reddick—sought legal help to voice out the concerns of a class of female employees who were scattered over 100 corporate-owned non-franchise McDonald’s locations. The settlement reportedly equals $500 million in compensatory and additional damages.

Fairley and Reddick also alleged that all the complaints were met with stern resistance from the higher-ups in the management, and sexual harassers were transferred than being punished. “McDonald’s strategy in Florida appears to be: deny, ignore, and punish anyone who complains too loudly, and at times, move harassers from one restaurant to another restaurant, where they have access to and can further harass more women,” they said as per a media report.

The careers of both Fairley and Reddick came to a screeching halt upon standing up against persisting assault. The management despite being aware of the situation chose to remain mum and overlook the intensity of the issue.

McDonald’s has been in the eye of the storm after its questionable policies came to light through a wave of complaints that were filed with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in the year 2016. At present, a majority of Mc Donald outlets are franchisees. The fast-food chain has argued that it cannot be held responsible for the allegations levied at the franchises—an argument which got the approval of a federal appeals court in California.