You Want Fries With Your Harassment?

McDonald’s will pay $50,000 to settle a sex discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced. The EEOC charged that McDonald’s USA, LLC unlawfully subjected an employee to sexual harassment at one of its Perth Amboy, N.J., restaurants. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit (Civil Action No. 2:09-Civ-05028 (WJM)(MF)), filed September 29, 2009 in U.S. District Court for District of New Jersey, an assistant store manager made lewd comments to a teenage crew member and touched, spanked and hugged him in a way that made him very uncomfortable. The crew member was only 16-17 years of age when these incidences took place. The case was resolved pursuant to a consent decree signed by Judge William J. Martini on October 19. Besides paying the victim $50,000 in compensatory damages, McDonald’s will also take steps to prevent future workplace harassment. The company will post and maintain EEOC remedial notices and posters; train all employees and managers at the restaurant on the federal laws that prohibit discrimination; maintain an anti-discrimination policy and complaint procedure; and cooperate with EEOC’s compliance monitoring.