Blind Man’s McDonald’s Drive-Thru Only Hours Discrimination Class Action Tossed

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McDonald’s Drive-Thru Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: McDonald’s was awarded a renewed motion for summary judgement in a class action lawsuit filed against it by Scott Magee.
• Why: Magee, a blind man, claimed McDonald’s drive-thru only service during early morning and late night hours violated discimination laws, but a judge found that the franchises, not the corporation, were responsible for the policy.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was lodged in Illinois federal court.

A federal judge in Illinois has sided with McDonald’s in a class action lawsuit dispute with a blind customer who alleges the fast food giant discriminates against people with disabilities by limiting its late-night and early morning service to drive-thru windows. 

Plaintiff Scott Magee alleged in his class action lawsuit that McDonald’s violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by requiring blind customers to use a drive-thru window for off hours orders — forcing them to use a taxi or find a friend for their late-night or early morning Mickey D’s trips since they aren’t able to drive a car. 

The federal judge in Illinois ruled in granting McDonald’s renewed motion for summary judgement that the company’s franchises don’t operate under provisions set forth by the ADA and that its policy to limit late-night orders to drive thru windows wasn’t singling out people with disabilities.

“Magee’s disability is not what prevents him from purchasing McDonald’s food during the late-night hours; it is instead his status as a pedestrian that limits his access,” wrote the judge. 

Magee claimed that, since he was blocked from entering the restaurant as a pedestrian during early morning and late-night hours, he would have needed to have a companion or taxi driver give him a ride in order for him to order food. 

The judge, however, pointed out that the three McDonald’s restaurants Magee accused of ADA violations were operating under a corporate franchise agreement and training manual which did not stipulate that they had to serve customers inside the restaurant late at night. 

“McDonald’s USA leaves the late-night operation decision to the franchisees and delegates to the franchisees the responsibility to comply with federal laws,” the judge wrote. 

McDonald’s Drive-Thru Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit

Magee filed his original class action lawsuit in 2016 against a single McDonald’s in Metairie, Louisiana, before later adding restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland in an amended complaint, reports Law360. 

Magee argued that the McDonald’s restaurants in California violated the states Unruh Civil Rights Act, however, the judge ruled those claims were grounded on the federal ADA claims, which ultimately failed. 

A motion to dismiss filed by McDonalds was previously slapped down by a separate judge in February 2017, while Magee asked a judge to deny the company’s renewed motion for summary judgement in May 2019. 

Magee had argued that the McDonald’s franchises should be held to standards set by the ADA because the company had a franchise agreement which allows it to control changes revolving around accessibility for disabled people at restaurant locations, reports Law360. 

McDonald’s reached a class action settlement in August with workers who claimed they were subject to unsanitary conditions and asked to wear doggy diapers and coffee filters as face masks during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Do you believe McDonald’s off-hours drive-thru policies discriminate against people with disabilities? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Roberto Luis Costales and William H. Beaumont of Beaumont Costales. 

The McDonalds Drive-Thru Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Magee v. McDonald’s Corp. and McDonald’s USA LLC, Case No. 1:16-cv-05652, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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