老澳门开奖结果

MASON, Mich. 鈥� Former workers at a McDonald鈥檚 restaurant in Mason, Michigan who are part of a class-action lawsuit alleging rampant sexual harassment will be eligible to claim awards averaging $10,000, depending on the extent of the harassment they suffered, under the terms of a proposed settlement submitted for court approval today.

The suit was originally filed in November 2019 by former McDonald鈥檚 worker Jenna Ries. In December 2021, a federal judge ruled the lawsuit could continue on behalf of a class of approximately 100 other women and teenaged girls, based on evidence showing the 鈥渃onsistency, frequency, severity, and visibility鈥� of the harassment they experienced at the hands of a single store manager.

鈥淣o one should have to put up with sexual harassment to get a paycheck,鈥� said Ries. 鈥淚 filed this lawsuit because I didn鈥檛 want other women to go through what I did while working at McDonald鈥檚. I hope those who were abused will get the compensation they deserve, but I also hope McDonald鈥檚 will listen to survivors, and do everything possible to prevent sexual harassment in its restaurants.鈥�

Ries, who worked at the Mason McDonald鈥檚 for three years, alleged that a manager frequently propositioned her for sex on the job, called her epithets including 鈥渂itch,鈥� 鈥渃unt,鈥� 鈥渟lut,鈥� and 鈥渨hore鈥� in front of other workers and the store鈥檚 general manager, and that he frequently grabbed her breasts, buttocks, and crotch. Three former employees later joined Ries in bringing the case, and nearly 20 other women submitted sworn statements in support of the lawsuit 鈥� all attesting to similar conduct they experienced at the hands of the same manager.

鈥淲hile this settlement is a win for dozens of Mason McDonald鈥檚 workers who claimed egregious harassment, it unfortunately doesn鈥檛 go as far as we would have hoped, because McDonald鈥檚 corporate wasn鈥檛 at the table.鈥� said Gillian Thomas, senior staff attorney at the 老澳门开奖结果 Women鈥檚 Rights Project.

Although the case originally was filed against McDonald鈥檚 as well as its Mason franchisee, the company sought to be let out of the case, claiming that because it did not directly employ the harasser or the women he targeted, it was not responsible for the abuse. Late last year, the court agreed, and dismissed the corporate entity. That left the franchisee as the only defendant in the case. It is paying the $1.5 million settlement.

鈥淚f McDonald鈥檚 accepted responsibility for the well-being of the nearly one million people who work under the Golden Arches, it would protect countless workers from harassment and violence,鈥� explained Darcie Brault, Michigan-based counsel for the Mason plaintiffs. 鈥淚t is unconscionable that McDonald鈥檚 continues to say 鈥榥ot it鈥� when it comes to sexual harassment of workers at its franchise locations.鈥�

Ninety-five percent of McDonald鈥檚 14,000 U.S. restaurants are franchisees. But the company historically has not required franchisees to take steps to prevent or remedy harassment, and routinely fights franchise workers鈥� efforts to hold the company responsible in court. In April 2021, the company claimed that it would start requiring franchisees to meet so-called 鈥淕lobal Brand Standards鈥� against harassment. As , however, the company does not appear to have taken substantive steps to implement that new mandate.

鈥淲e brought this suit because we want real change, and to stamp out sexual harassment for everyone who wears the McDonald鈥檚 uniform. I鈥檓 sorry that that鈥檚 not going to happen today,鈥� said Emily Anibal, who was only 16 when she worked at the Mason McDonald鈥檚. 鈥淚t feels good to get some relief for the nightmare we endured, but we鈥檙e not going to be quiet. We鈥檙e going to keep fighting on behalf of McDonald鈥檚 workers everywhere.鈥�

Since at least 2016, McDonald鈥檚 workers have filed more than 100 complaints and lawsuits alleging workplace sexual harassment, such as groping, propositions for sex (sometimes in exchange for hours), and rape.

The Michigan class-action suit was initially filed by Ries and the 老澳门开奖结果 Women鈥檚 Rights Project and co-counsel with support from the TIME鈥橲 UP Legal Defense Fund.