# Chicago Mcdonald's Employees Sues The Company Over Workplace Violence



## Laela (Nov 21, 2019)

*McDonald's employees in Chicago sue over workplace violence*

Hilary Russ  |  3 MIN READ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) employees on Thursday sued the fast-food giant and several of its franchisees in Chicago over a store redesign that staffers say has made it easier for angry customers to leap over the counter and attack them.

The suit, filed in Illinois’ Circuit Court of Cook County by 17 Chicago-area McDonald’s workers, claims McDonald’s has failed to protect them from a pattern of violence.

Employees have been threatened with guns, beaten with a wet-floor sign, had kitchen equipment thrown at them by a naked customer, been pepper-sprayed, been flashed and propositioned, and even urinated on, according to the complaint.

“McDonald’s takes seriously its responsibility to provide and foster a safe working environment for our employees, and along with our franchisees, continue to make investments in training programs that uphold safe environments for customers and crew members,” the company said in a statement that did not mention whether it planned to contest the lawsuit.

“In addition to training, McDonald’s maintains stringent policies against violence in our restaurants.”

The lawsuit targets McDonald’s so-called “Experience of the Future” store renovations announced in 2017, part of a corporate turnaround plan that came after years of stagnant sales.

The company said last year that it and its franchisees would invest $6 billion to revamp most of its roughly 14,000 U.S. stores.

In October, executives said more than 9,000 stores had completed remodeling - about two-thirds of all U.S. locations - with more in development before year’s end, and that the modernized stores had improved overall sales.

But the suit claims that the new design features split and lowered counters, creating easy access for customers seeking to harm employees on the other side.

*In the Chicago area, there are more than 20 calls every day to emergency services from McDonald’s stores, the suit said.*

Plaintiffs claim that McDonald’s ignores best practices that could make stores safer, especially at locations open overnight.

Those measures include drive-thru windows that block customers from entering the store, windows free of advertising materials that otherwise obstruct lines of vision and bathrooms that lock when workers need to clean them alone late at night.

Filed in conjunction with the Fight for $15 and a Union, the complaint alleges a nationwide epidemic of in-store violence, including an armed robbery at a McDonald’s in Orlando, Florida when workers were held at gunpoint in a walk-in freezer.


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## Laela (Nov 21, 2019)

More than 20 calls a day to 911 from McDonald's stores in Chicago area is a frightening number...


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## brg240 (Nov 21, 2019)

That's really scary.  and absuredly high. If people are getting injured like that they need to change things immediately.

I really hate how people treat fast food workers (well tbh most service workers)


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## Laela (Nov 26, 2019)

Mc Donald's is too busy making money to worry about the safety and welfare of the disposable peons they hire to ring up the sales (sarcasm) 

Says a lot about the company and its "values."


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## Everything Zen (Nov 27, 2019)

Yet another reason if anyone needed one to stop eating their “food”....


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## Chromia (Nov 30, 2019)

It's disturbing what people have to put up with in the workplace when they just want to do their jobs and earn income.


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## Everything Zen (Nov 30, 2019)

^^^Pretty much- It’s another reason why I had to stop eating Popeye’s bc the glorified behavior issues over a damn sandwhich were just disturbing.


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## 1QTPie (Dec 5, 2019)

A woman pulled a GUN on a Mickey Dees employee yesterday for giving her ketchup instead of jelly for her biscuit.  Can y'all leave these people alone please???   Holy crap.


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## Everything Zen (Dec 5, 2019)

^^^More justification for removing myself from society.


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## Laela (Dec 5, 2019)

Wow...that's crazy... and the food ain't even real!


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## NijaG (Dec 7, 2019)

There are a lot of angry, frustrated, desperate people right now. It’s easier to take out your frustrations on others weaker than you than to either seek help, or find a way to solve the problem(s).


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## LdyKamz (Dec 7, 2019)

These new designs don't even sound practical. And a bathroom that doesn't lock? Must be a multi stall bathroom because ??? I hope these workers get all the money! People out here just trying to make a living. The least their employer could do is see that they don't get assaulted while on the job.


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