McDonald’s in sex harass flap
More than two dozen McDonald’s workers from 20 U.S. cities have just filed complaints with the federal government alleging they were sexually harassed on the job. The move was announced by three national advocacy groups on Tuesday — just two days before the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
The “disturbing” complaints, most of which were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, detail multiple instances of harassment, abuse and retaliation against cooks and cashiers at the company’s branches and franchises, according to a public letter signed by the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.
“When people reported getting sick from McDonald’s salad, you immediately pulled lettuce from 3,000 of your restaurants, whether they were run by the corporation or a franchisee,” the letter states. “And yet, another public health crisis — the rampant sexual harassment of your workers — persists at your restaurants and you continue to neglect it, as if you are powerless to fix it.”
The 25 workers allege groping, indecent exposure, propositions for sex and lewd comments from their supervisors. A spokeswoman for the group said two of the complaints were filed by men, while the rest came from women.
The new allegations come a year after 10 workers, including a 15-yearold girl from St. Louis, came forward with sexual harassment complaints against the fast-food chain.
Months after those accusations became public, McDonald’s employees in several U.S. cities walked out of work in the first multistate strike against sexual harassment.
The latest legal effort is led by Time’s Up, a nonprofit organization that provides attorneys for women suffering from workplace abuse, as well as the ACLU and Fight for $15, a group campaigning for higher minimum wages.
The three groups also accuse McDonald’s of sweeping harassment allegations under the rug, realiating against complainnts and protecting the acused.
The fast-food company would not comment on the atest accusations, but CEO teve Easterbrook said in a tatement on Sunday that McDonald’s is rolling out a new training program and has strengthened its policy on sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation to “more clearly” inform employees of their rights and educate staff on what unacceptable behavior looks like.
Gillian Thomas, an attorney for the ACLU, called the changes a “last-ditch effort” that falls short of workers’ demands.
“Clearly, this is a problem that is not going away,” she said in a call with reporters Tuesday, adding that Easterbrook’s announcement “came as news to our clients, who tell us they’ve seen no change in their workplace.”