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A proposed class action lawsuit in Michigan state court alleges McDonald’s sexual harassment policy are severely lacking, that managers are not trained to prevent sexual harassment, and that employees who complain about it are retaliated against.
In a statement made by McDonald’s they addressed the training issue and said they were implementing training for safe-workplace protocols at their corporate owned restaurants and that they encourage franchisees to follow suit.
Their encouragement of their franchisees to follow their lead in addressing sexual harassment in the workplace brings up the issue of their legal responsibility over their franchises. The lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that McDonald’s, who franchises 95% of their fast-food restaurants, does not push hard enough to improve the workplace conditions at their franchises.
But is McDonald’s responsible for their franchisees’ actions? A state court in San Francisco recently declared that McDonald’s was not a “joint employer” because they don’t exercise a high enough level of control over their franchisees’ employees.
In the last 3 years in the U.S., more than 50 similar complaints about the need for improved sexual harassment and safe-workplace training have been filed against McDonald’s and it’s franchisees.
The proposed class action lawsuit against McDonald’s could therefore run into issues before they even get started despite being supported by numerous big-name groups including the ACLU, Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, and Fight for $15.
Do you have a McDonald’s sexual harassment claim of your own? Have you been sexually harassed while working in the food service industry? Send us a message for more information about your rights.
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