In terms of employment law, sexual harassment in the workplace is expressly prohibited. Yet many of the workers employed by McDonald’s have reported incidents of such harassment. Unfortunately, some of these allegations arose in our home state of North Carolina.
Last month, a well-known labor group filed 25 sexual harassment charges against the fast food chain. Fight for $15 has been urging McDonald’s to increase its rate of pay for workers but has also turned its attention to what resembles a sexual harassment epidemic in some of these restaurants.
Several politicians, including four presidential hopefuls, have also voiced their concerns about these allegations. These politicians recently sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McDonald’s. They want the franchise to address these employment law violations, which they called unacceptable, unsafe and intolerable examples of working conditions.
The letter asked the franchise when it planned to address the allegations and when it would investigate the working conditions in its restaurants. In total, eight U.S. senators put their signatures on this letter, including the following four senators with designs on the White House.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
- Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Recently, McDonald’s announced that it would enhance training for its workforce. The restaurant chain also plans to open a hotline for workers concerned about sexual harassment. Its response to reports of sexual harassment was to state that leaders will “continue to listen and act in pursuit of a world where no level of harassment is tolerated.”
In addition to the lawsuits filed by Fight for $15, individual civil suits have also been filed in several states, including North Carolina. If you are considering legal action against your place of work for sexual harassment or other forms of mistreatment, an employment law attorney can help you build a solid case.