McDonald's employees in Virginia are suing the company for race-based discrimination and sexual harassment just a month after the National Labor Relations Board designated the corporation as a "joint-employer" with franchisees.
According to The Huffington Post, the 10 plaintiffs — nine African-American and one Hispanic — claim they were fired en masse just two months after multiple franchise owner Soweva Co. hired several white employees. They allege that the owner of Soweva, Michael Simon, said that they "didn’t fit the profile" he was looking for at his three McDonald's locations.
"Most of the workers who remain on the job at the local McDonald’s also are black. So, too, is Simon,"
noted the South Boston (Virginia) News & Record in its report.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit have received legal assistance from the NAACP and the group Fight for $15, which advocates for a $15 minimum wage.
The fired employees said in the suit that supervisors at the three McDonald's locations had remarked that the stores were "too dark," "ghetto," and said outright there were "too many black people in the store." Female employees claim that they were also sexually harassed by a male supervisor who groped them, sent them nude photos, and promised better working conditions in exchange for sex.
Typically, such lawsuits are filed against the franchisee only, however, after the NLRB designated McDonalds a "joint-employer," the plaintiffs have also named the parent corporation.
"In order to maximize its profit, McDonald's Corporate has control over nearly every aspect of its restaurants' operations," the lawsuit argues. "Though nominally independent, franchised McDonald's restaurants are predominantly controlled by McDonald's."