According to the complaint vs. McDonalds, managers called workers “dirty Mexican,” “bitch” and “ghetto.”
/Fast food workers opened another front in their struggle with McDonald’s on Thursday, when 10 former employees of a Virginia-based franchise sued the company for allegedly violating their civil rights.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, the plaintiffs allege that both McDonald’s and one of its franchisees violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by subjecting employees to “rampant racial and sexual harassment.” The alleged abuse occurred at three McDonald’s restaurants in Virginia, all owned by the franchisee Soweva Corporation.
According to the complaint, managers called their employees epithets such as “dirty Mexican,” “bitch” and “ghetto.” The lawsuit also says managers “inappropriately touched female employees on their legs and buttocks; sent female employees sexual pictures; and solicited sexual relations from female employees.” Black employees were disciplined for minor infractions that white employees were allowed to get away with and fired shortly after the franchisee had hired more white workers, according to the suit.
“Being a good worker didn’t matter,” said Katrina Stanfield, one of the plaintiffs, during a Thursday conference call with reporters. “I was fired for being black."
Workers approached the local chapter of the NAACP for assistance “after facing months of racial harassment, abuse, and intimidation,” said Rev. Kevin Chandler, president of the South Boston-Halifax NAACP chapter. That NAACP chapter then reached out to Fight for $15, a labor group that is behind a series of nationwide strikes in the fast food industry.
The fast food workers campaign, which is demanding an industry-wide wage floor of $15 per hour and the right to form a union, has previously backed worker lawsuits against McDonald’s alleging systemic wage theft. Fight for $15 announced on Thursday that it is also launching a national hotline for McDonald’s employees to report instances of harassment and discrimination.
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs has also joined with the plaintiffs to provide pro bono legal work, the group announced on Thursday.
