A class action lawsuit investigation is underway, alleging that McDonald’s, the world’s most popular fast food chain, breached their fiduciary duty to their Directors of Operations, District Managers and Trainers, Supervisors, and Managers by recklessly managing their employee retirement savings fund, causing these McDonalds employees’ 401k retirement funds to lose significant value.
McDonalds provides a generous employee 401k plan as part of their McDonalds employee benefits package. According to McDonald’s website, management employees have option to save up to 50 percent of their earnings directly into a McDonalds 401k plan, with McDonalds matching their contributions by 300 percent for the first 1 percent of pay the management employee contributes and 100 percent for each dollar on the next 4 percent contributed.
Many McDonalds management employees—including Director of Operations, District Managers, District Trainers, Supervisors, and Managers— rely heavily on their 401k plan for retirement income. However, this source of income may not be what they planned for since claims have surfaced that McDonald’s allegedly took employee 401k money and invested it into low return money market instruments, which devalued McDonalds employees’ 401k plans.
McDonalds Fiduciary Duty to Management Employees
Employers that offer employee benefit plans—such as 401(k) plans or other types of pension plans—are bound by the definition of fiduciary duty set forth in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA, in regulating employee benefit plans, established higher standards of fiduciary duty for individuals who have control over a plan’s assets that exist for other types of fiduciaries under common law. In spelling out fiduciary duties with regard to employee benefit plans, ERISA covers the duty of loyalty, the duty to use prudence, and the duty to comply with the plan. The duty of loyalty means that fiduciaries must act in the best interests of the plan and its participants.
McDonalds Breach of Duty Lawsuit Investigation
McDonald’s, as a fiduciary, is mandated by ERISA laws to exercise a duty of care when managing McDonalds 401k plan assets by avoiding conflict of interests and diversifying an investing employee’s portfolio. McDonalds Directors of Operations, District Managers, Supervisors, District Trainers, and Manager who suspect their 401k plan has been mismanaged by McDonalds are protected under the law. When a court determines that a fiduciary has breached their duty, the fiduciary will be required to return any profits made through the use of plan assets. Breaching their fiduciary duty could mean that the company’s and/or the fiduciaries’ personal assets will be used to correct their errors, restore balances and pay fines.
McDonalds management employees who had a McDonalds 401k plan since 2007 may be eligible to pursue a McDonald’s class action lawsuit to compensate them for their employee benefits losses.
Join a Free McDonalds 401k Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
A class action lawsuit investigation is currently underway to pursue the possibility of taking legal action against McDonalds for potentially violating ERISA. If you are a McDonalds employee who signed up for a McDonalds 401k account since 2007, you may have a legal claim.
