McDonald's Accused Of Fostering 'Sexual Harassment And Hostile Work Enviroment' In New Lawsuit

KEY POINTS

Former employee Ashley Reddick and current employee Jameila Fairley filed the lawsuit against McDonald's in a Chicago federal court
The two represent several female employees accusing the fast-food chain of widespread sexual harassment at its Florida locations
Reddick and Fairley allege that McDonald's fostered an evironment of sexual harassment by failing to train employees properly and moving alleged harassers to different locations with no consequence

A lawsuit filed Friday in a Chicago federal court accused fast-food giant McDonald's of subjecting female employees in corporately owned locations in Florida to intense sexual harassment.

Current employee Jamelia Fairley and former employee Ashley Reddick filed on behalf of several other female employees working within the over 100 corporate-owned restaurants in Florida. Fairley and Reddick accused McDonald’s of failing to provide proper harassment training to employees and moved alleged harassers from store-to-store without consequence. The pair said this led to “severe or pervasive sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, including groping, physical assaults, and sexually-charged verbal comments.”

Reddick said she worked at a location in Sanford, Florida, from 2015 to 2018 and was fired after reporting a male coworker touched her inappropriately and made several sexual comments. Fairley said she was harassed at the same location by two male employees after being hired in 2018.

They are seeking $500 million compensatory damages and additional punitive damages.

“McDonald’s strategy in Florida appears to be: deny, ignore, and punish anyone who complains too loudly, and at times, move harassers from one restaurant to another restaurant, where they have access to and can further harass more women,” Reddick and Fairley told Reuters.

McDonald’s responded with a statement, saying there had been investigations into alleged sexual harassment at the Florida stores.

“The plaintiffs’ allegations of harassment and retaliation were investigated as soon as they were brought to our attention, and we will likewise investigate the new allegations that they have raised in their complaint,” McDonald’s said in a statement.

It’s the latest in a string of lawsuits against McDonald’s over alleged sexual harassment at various locations across the U.S. However, most lawsuits have been aimed against franchisees where franchise owners have a more immediate say in operations versus corporate-owned locations.