McDonald’s Workers Say Company Discriminates Against Black People

McDonald’s workers recently filed a lawsuit against the fast food chain, claiming that Black workers face racial discrimination in the workplace.

Plaintiffs Monica Scott, Augusta Moody and Faith Booker recently filed their lawsuit against McDonald’s under the Civil Rights Act of 1866. According to the plaintiffs, they were subject to a hostile work environment rife with discrimination against Black people.

The “severe and pervasive harassment of Black employees and customers” reportedly dates back to October 2019 when the McDonald’s on Walt Loop Road in Lakeland, Florida came under new management. The new general manager allegedly made repeated discriminatory remarks about Black customers and made Black employees uncomfortable.

When a Black customer asked for grape jelly and ketchup, the general manager allegedly remarked that “it’s always Black people who want free stuff.” He allegedly added that all Black people are “aggressive and trying to fight,” and “all they want to do is smoke weed.”

Scott says she found these comments to be “extremely upsetting.” Due to the discrimination against Black customers, Scott allegedly couldn’t concentrate and eventually took a break as “she felt like a person with no clothes.” When confronted by Scott about his remarks, the manager reportedly gave a pretend apology and proceeded to make more racist comments – arguing that even Scott knew his statements were true.

The McDonald’s lawsuit claims that discrimination against Black customers continued, with the general manager asking Black customers for their ID during a free meal giveaway – but not doing the same with other, non-Black customers.

When Scott complained to her regional HR representative, her concerns were reportedly dismissed. Even worse, Scott says she experienced retaliation from the general manager after bringing her concerns to HR. She says she was forced to do cleaning that wasn’t a part of her job description, had her hours cut, and more. After circulating a written petition demanding fair treatment, Scott allegedly faced further retaliation in the form of a bad performance review.

Moody and Booker say they experienced similar discrimination and retaliation.

After Moody complained to HR about racial discrimination, he says the manager cut his hours and unfairly disciplined him for no fair reason. For example, after he told a non-employee to leave the worker area of the fast food restaurant, Moody was allegedly hit with a suspension for aggression and violations of social distancing measures. Although the regional manager reversed the suspension after Moody complained, the McDonald’s lawsuit argues that retaliation and discrimination are still harmful.

Booker says she was retaliated against after she signed Scott’s equality petition. When she and other colleagues congregated in the restaurant’s parking lot, they were allegedly accused of violating company rules.

“McDonald’s can tweet Black Lives Matter as many times as it wants, but until it treats its Black workers like we matter, we can’t take those words seriously,” Booker said in a statement, according to Law360.

The plaintiffs argue that the manager’s discrimination violates the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Although the manager was the primary perpetrator of the discrimination, the plaintiffs claim their experiences reflect on McDonald’s policies as a whole company.

“While not unique, the experiences of Ms. Scott, Mr. Moody, and Ms. Booker are particularly egregious examples of the serious harm that occurs when a corporation fails to take responsibility for the discriminatory conduct of its managers and thus permits an environment of pervasive and intentional racial discrimination to take hold at one of its corporate owned and operated restaurants,” the McDonald’s racial discrimination lawsuit claims.

McDonald’s reportedly takes claims of racial discrimination very seriously and will review the plaintiffs’ claims.

“McDonald’s unequivocally stands behind the need for equality and fairness on both sides of the counter in our restaurants, and we do not tolerate discrimination or retaliation of any kind by anyone,” McDonald’s said in a statement, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“We stand with Black communities across the globe in our commitment to address unacceptable racial injustices and are disappointed that these allegations do not reflect the high standards we hold ourselves accountable to every day across all areas of our business.”

Just last year, McDonald’s reportedly enhanced its internal measures against discrimination with more strict policies and better training. Additionally, the company reportedly maintains a “Business Integrity Line” which allows employees to call anonymously about discrimination issues any time of the day.

Did you experience racial discrimination in your workplace? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

The workers are represented by Peter Helwig of Harris & Helwig PA, Eve Cervantez and Amanda Lynch of Altshuler Berzon LLP, and Mary Joyce Carlson.

The McDonald’s Racial Discrimination Lawsuit is Scott, et al. v. McDonald’s Corp., et al., Case No. 8:20-cv-01638, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

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