McDonald’s Will Provide Sexual Harassment Training After Dozens Of Harassment Complaints

McDonald’s hardly needs an introduction. The fast food behemoth was founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Since then, it expanded globally to over 36,000 locations and employed roughly 200,000 people. McDonald’s even built a brand so successful that a simple jingle (I’m lovin’ it anyone?) can get the even most healthy eater thinking about a McFlurry.

Impressive statistics aside, the home of the golden arches is an emotional one. And the restaurant reminds many people of their childhoods. We can hardly forget the excitement of running up to the counter and ordering a happy meal, just hoping for that one perfect toy. Cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, and dangerously addicting French fries have been with us through post-game celebrations, birthday parties, and late-night study sessions.

However, despite the ball pit-filled memories, the company is not without its share of scandals.

And we aren’t just talking about stolen hamburgers (looking at you, hamburglar). Disgruntled employees, lengthy lawsuits, and a slew of nutritional controversies added up over the company’s decades-long run.

These are the biggest secret scandals that McDonald’s ever faced. They might be even juicier than the hamburgers.

25 Workers Filed Sexual Harassment Complaints

Companies that don't enforce sexual harassment protections must be called out. My colleagues and I are demanding @McDonalds do more to improve sexual harassment policies at locations across the country. It's not enough for these polices to exist on paper - they must be enforced.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) June 17, 2019

Dozens of women filed gender discrimination complaints against the chain, including a group of 25 women in 20 cities who reported being sexually harassed while employed at McDonald’s franchises.

For these women, this meant being subjected to sexual comments, touching, and other inappropriate behavior at work.

While the company recently announced new policies addressing sexual harassment, workers are saying the training is long overdue.

One woman shared her experience, recalling she took the job during a tough financial time and soon caught the eye of her manager. “He responded that he’d do his best to get me a raise and maybe even a loan. I felt a glimmer of hope,” she told Vox. “He soon told me he had money for me and I could retrieve it if I went to his house. I was suspicious and asked him what he wanted in return.”

Her gut instinct was right, and she revealed, “When I arrived, my worst fears turned out to be true. He asked what I would ‘do’ for him in exchange for cash and a raise. Perhaps a ‘quickie,’ he said.”

HAPPENING NOW: @KamalaHarris marches with McDonalds workers in Nevada, fighting for higher wages and an end to workplace sexual harassment pic.twitter.com/D5ILfPug5W

— Ian Sams (@IanSams) June 14, 2019

”Together with our franchisees, we have a responsibility to take action on this issue and are committed to promoting positive change,” McDonald’s U.S. President Chris Kempczinski said in a statement, as reported by the Associated Press on August 28th.

Unfortunately, studies have shown harassment is a growing issue in the fast food industry.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, “In one 2016 survey of 1,271 U.S. female fast food workers, 40% said they faced sexual harassment on the job. Of those, 42% said they were forced to accept it because they couldn’t afford to lose their job and 20% said employers retaliated in some way after they reported the harassment, including cutting their hours or giving them a less desirable schedule.”

As for other scandals the company has faced…

Hot Coffee

Now known as McDonald’s “hot coffee” lawsuit, the case of Liebeck v. McDonald’s made history.

In 1992, Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns after spilling a cup of coffee in her lap. The coffee burned over 16 percent of her body. She also spent eight days in the hospital and required major reconstructive surgery and multiple skin grafts. McDonald’s initially offered her a measly $800. So she promptly sued the company. The court case took over the nation as the media seemed to paint Liebeck as a money-grubbing villain.

However, the court saw things a bit differently.

Throughout the course of the trial, it became evident that McDonald’s received complaints about the temperature of their coffee for years. Over 700 customers suffered from burns. Evidence also proved that McDonald’s coffee was served 30 to 40 degrees hotter than other companies. Consequently, the court sided with Liebeck and awarded her $200,000 in damages. That amount was later reduced to $160,000, though, since she was deemed partially at fault. Liebeck also received $2.7 million in punitive damages that went down to $480,000. She and the burger chain eventually settled on an undisclosed amount out of court.

Monopoly

Did you ever feel like McDonald’s annual Monopoly game was impossible to win?

Well, turns out you were right. The quintessential marketing game originated in 1987 and gave customers game pieces for different McDonald’s menu items. If you matched two of the same color pieces, you could win huge prizes like cars, trips, or cash. Then, someone rigged it for 12 whole years.

His name was Jerry Jacobson.

He was an ex-cop who worked at the game manufacturing location. Jacobson illegally sold people the winning pieces in exchange for a cut of their profit. Over the course of the scheme, he managed to take over $24 million dollars from the fast food chain. The FBI caught and arrested him during a sting operation, though. McDonald’s was cleared of any wrongdoing since they were unaware of the scam. But the company did give away an additional $15 million dollars for publicity.

Libel Suit Against The London Greenpeace Group

An environmentalist group decided to take on the fast food conglomerate in 1986.

The organization known as the London Greenpeace Group went around with leaflets that read, “What’s wrong with McDonald’s – everything they don’t want you to know.” In the packet, the group accused McDonald’s of littering, mistreating animals and workers, and participating in deforestation efforts.

The company sued five members of the organization for libel, though.

And the trial lasted for several years. In the end, the British court ruled that McDonald’s bore no fault for deforestation but was responsible for lying about the nutrition level of their food. The verdict also stated that the company consciously helped lower wages in the food industry. London Greenpeace Members Helen Steel and David Morris were ordered to pay $60,000 in damages. But apparently, McDonald’s never attempted to collect the money. All-in-all McDonald’s spent over $10 million on legal expenses during the lengthy trial.

Super Size Me

In 2004, the film Super Size Me rocked McDonald’s and the rest of the fast food world to the core.

Morgan Spurlock directed the documentary and willingly ate McDonald’s three times a day for a month-long period. He tried everything on the menu at least once. Throughout the course of his journey, Spurlock tracked not only his physical health but his psychological health as well. His food intake averaged around 5,000 calories per day (twice the recommended consumption according to U.S. Health Dietary Guidelines). After the month, Spurlock gained 18 pounds, had higher cholesterol, struggled with depression.

He even suffered significant liver damage.

Once the film came out McDonald’s faced fire. People around the world couldn’t stop talking about obesity and the effects of fast food. Super Size Me created a media nightmare for the fast food chain. And their place in society took a huge hit. Following the negative press, the company removed the infamous “super size me” option from every menu. But they claim it had no correlation. In the years that followed, they also made increased efforts to appear more health-conscious by providing more nutritional options to their menus.

Racism In Virginia

In 2015, 10 former McDonald’s employees filed a civil rights suit.

They all worked in Virginia locations and accused the company of firing them for racist reasons. Allegedly, they lost their jobs after supervisors suggested there were “too many Black people in the store.” The event in question took place in less than 24 hours in 2014 when 15 Black employees were let go at once.

Michael Simon owned all three of the Virginia franchise locations.

And ex-employee Katrina Stanfield testified that she experienced regular harassment. Purportedly, supervisors said things like, “It’s too dark in here.” Her discrimination appeals were ignored by the management at McDonald’s, though. Her lawyers argued that the company didn’t do enough to protect its workers. And one petition calling for damages garnered over 35,000 signatures.

Beef Fat Fries

McDonald’s French fries are one of the company’s biggest sellers.

They’re delicious and they’re some of the companies only vegetarian options… supposedly. In fact, the chain has sold more the 200 billion packets of fries around the world.  However, in 2001 one location faced some intense scrutiny. Apparently, that McDonald’s chain cooked their fries in beef fat in addition to vegetable oil.

The burger behemoth faced a lot of backlash.

Eventually, McDonald’s admitted to the mistake saying:

A small amount of natural beef flavoring is added to our French fries during potato processing. If there was confusion, we apologize. Because it is our policy to communicate to customers, we regret if customers felt that the information we provided was not complete enough to meet their needs.

Some countries with cultural reasons for abstaining from meat felt especially disappointed. The company then issued an apology on the McDonald’s website and vowed to acknowledge “all cultural or religious dietary considerations.”

McDonald’s also paid millions to the religious groups affected. The company still currently uses beef fat to make their fries in the United States but changed the process in other countries.

ABC And The Pink Slime Lawsuit

Most people understand that McDonald’s (and fast food in general) isn’t the pinnacle of healthy food, but they still expect the food to be, well food.

In 2012, ABC News reported that the “ground meat” people were consuming wasn’t actually beef at all. The footage showed a pink slime-like substance also known as LFTB, or “lean, finely textured beef.” The company that produced the substance supplied meat patties to lots of establishments around the country, including McDonald’s.

And the consumers weren’t happy.

After the scandal, McDonald’s declared they would never use LFTB again. B ut the pink slime damage was already done. Four plants closed even though the FDA deemed the substance safe to eat. In 2017, ABC settled a defamation lawsuit brought on by the producer of the meat substitute.

McAfrika

One of the company’s biggest flubs occurred in 2002.

McDonald’s released the “McAfrika.” The menu item was made of beef, cheese, tomatoes, and salad. And everything was stuffed inside a pita. While it is common for the restaurant to create menu items inspired from areas around the world, the McAfrika seemed particularly tasteless. Some people especially disagreed with the sandwich because it was only sold in Norway.

And Norway is one of the world’s richest countries.

Even more troubling, the company released the menu item during the height of a famine that was plaguing the lower part of Africa. The backlash was so intense that McDonald’s agreed to allow aid agencies to fundraise in all of the Norway locations that sold the out-of-touch menu flop.

The Fight For 15

McDonald’s has faced criticism about its treatment of its employees for years.

And it all came to a head in 2014 when workers around the globe decided to go on strike. The “Fight For 15” unified employees everywhere from Japan, to Brazil, to Pennsylvania. They joined picket lines to protest for higher hourly wages. All in all, strikes took place in 150 cities across 33 countries. As of 2019, though, wages at many locations are well under 15 per hour. But they do vary from location to location.

Mayor McCheese

Ronald McDonald has been the company mascot since the beginning.

But as the years progressed more and more characters joined the lineup, including Grimace, the Hamburglar, and a character called Mayor McCheese. In 1985, though, McDonald’s was forced to discontinue the mascot after losing a legal battle for copyright infringement. In fact, the popular children’s show, H.R. Pufnstuf, claimed that Mayor McCheese bore a striking resemblance to their title character.

It is interesting to note that the show began in 1969.

And the McDonald’s advertising campaign with Mayor McCheese came out a mere two years later. According to the court records, the jury sided with H.R. Pufnstuf saying:

We do not believe that the ordinary reasonable person, let alone a child, viewing these works will even notice that Pufnstuf is wearing a cummerbund while Mayor McCheese is wearing a diplomat’s sash.

After an initial appeal, the creators of Pufnstuf were deemed right and awarded $1 million dollars.