Workers Sue McDonald’s For Discrimination, Opening New Front In Franchise Fight
Dave Jamieson, HUFFINGTON POST
(Huffington Post)—A group of former McDonald’s workers from Virginia are suing their stores for racial discrimination and sexual harassment — and they’re taking the rare step of naming the world’s foremost fast-food company as a defendant in the suit.
The 10 plaintiffs — nine of whom are African-American, and one of whom is Hispanic — say they were wrongfully fired last year and replaced with mostly white workers because their managers believed there had been “too many black people [working] in the store.” The lawsuit (viewable here) alleges that women were harassed and groped and that minorities were subjected to racist taunts. It also claims that managers referred to one restaurant as “the ghetto store.”
Although it’s usually just franchisees that are sued under discrimination claims, in this case the plaintiffs are arguing that McDonald’s itself should be held responsible for the actions inside a franchised store. They say the fast-food giant should have to pay damages because it sets companywide policies and has the power to enforce them
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