When a Florida employee reports for duty at McDonald’s or any other type of company, he or she can reasonably expect that his or her employer has fulfilled obligations to maintain a safe working environment. Many people who work at “The Golden Arches” in this state and others say sexual harassment has become a systemic issue and corporate officials are not doing enough to resolve the problem. One woman who filed a lawsuit said she could not even determine how to get an official to speak to her on the phone.
The woman said she dialed number after number for corporate officials, but her efforts seemed to have been in vain because she could not get anyone to take her calls. A single mother of five children, the former McDonald’s worker says her boss retaliated against her after she rejected sexual advances in the workplace. She says her work environment became so hostile that she felt she had no alternative but to quit her job.
The woman in question and numerous other former McDonald’s employees from various locations throughout the country have filed legal claims against the fast food giant. A common complaint among these lawsuits is that corporate officials and store managers offered no assistance when distressed workers reached out for support after alleging that sexual harassment had taken place against them on the job. One young woman stated that she had told two shift managers and her kitchen manager that a maintenance worker had assaulted her in the store restroom, but no one did anything about it.
McDonald’s corporate officials have stated that the company places employee safety at the top of its list of high-priority issues. One representative said that a sexual harassment hot line was implemented in 2019 that workers can call to report such issues. There are existing employment laws in Florida and all other states that protect workers from unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.
