Florida Employees Sue McDonald’s For Sexual Harassment
Having fought for the rights of sexual harassment victims for more than two decades, our Citrus County, Florida sexual harassment lawyers know that female employees are regularly subjected to unwanted physical contact, inappropriate verbal comments, and generally hostile work environments. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA). Two McDonald’s workers claim that McDonald’s fostered a climate of pervasive sexual harassment in restaurants across the State of Florida. Learn more about the case against McDonald’s below. If you experience sexual harassment or a hostile work environment based on your sex, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, our Florida sexual harassment attorneys are here to help.
A Culture of Harassment and Hostility
A current employee and a former employee of a McDonald’s location in Sanford, Florida, recently filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in Chicago against McDonald’s Corp. The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of female employees of more than 100 corporate-owned, non-franchise McDonald’s locations. They allege that the company fostered a climate of “severe or pervasive sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, including groping, physical assaults, and sexually-charged verbal comments.”
The plaintiffs allege both that McDonald’s failed to prevent the harassment from taking place and failed to act appropriately when sexual harassment was brought to their attention. They claim that McDonald’s failed to provide training to prevent sexual harassment and that serial harassers were simply moved from one location to another rather than terminated or legitimately punished.
McDonald’s issued a statement asserting it was committed to ensuring that its employees are not subjected to sexual harassment. According to the company: “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 claims that it does provide harassment training and additional resources, including anti-discrimination policies and a hotline for workers to report any issues.
In turn, the plaintiffs allege that McDonald’s Corp does little to ensure that management actually follows those policies or provide the referenced training. As a result, employees at these locations do not benefit from any such protections that McDonald’s Corp may or may not offer. McDonald’s already faces several other lawsuits regarding workplace mistreatment, including a pending class action in Michigan.
Free Consultation With Citrus County Sexual Harassment Lawyers
Based in Ocala, Florida, and representing employees throughout Central Florida, we have substantial experience litigating sexual harassment claims. If you have been the victim of sexual harassment, retaliation, or a hostile work environment, please contact our office for a free consultation with our Citrus, Florida sexual harassment attorneys. Our employee rights law firm takes sexual harassment cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery, and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.