Mcdonald’s Faces 25 New Sexual Harassment Complaints From Employees

Mcdonald's Faces 25 New Sexual Harassment ComplaintsUpdated: May 21, 2019 / 11:15 a.m.

On Tuesday, the McDonald’s Corp was involved with 25 new lawsuits and administrative charges of condoning sexual harassment in the company’s workplace and retaliating against employees who spoke up about the harassment they were receiving.

McDonald’s is known as one of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands around the globe, and with the new 25 cases, it now makes the fast-food chain a primary target of a campaign to extend the #MeToo movement, which initially sprung from sexual harassment cases in Hollywood, to the workplace.

The cases were announced by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and of those 25 cases, three of them are new lawsuits from two of the brand’s employees who have previously filed charges. The other charges were presented to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In the last three years, McDonald’s has faced more than 50 such charges and lawsuits, the ACLU said. During last September, McDonald’s employees in 10 different cities staged a one-day strike to protest alleged sexual harassment.

Jamelia Fairley is a single mother who makes  $9.60 an hour at a corporate-owned McDonald’s in Sanford, Florida. She told reporters she went to the EEOC after a co-worker of her’s began rubbing against her and groping her, while saying he could “give her a ride.”

She mentioned that after reporting the harassment, McDonald’s had transferred her but did not fire her harasser. She also claimed that her boss cut her weekly hours to seven from 25, “Trying to raise a 2-year old on $67 a week is, well, I can’t do it,” Fairley said.