filed Tuesday in Cook County, Illinois, five McDonald’s workers claim the company’s response to the pandemic has been “plainly inadequate,” saying the company did not provide enough gear, including gloves, masks and hand sanitizer, to protect workers from the spread of COVID-19. The company also failed to notify employees after a co-worker tested positive, according to the suit.
“McDonald’s says that we’re essential workers, but it’s not treating us that way,” plaintiff Taynarvis Massey, who has an 11-year-old son with asthma, said in a news release from the Fight for 15 fast-food workers movement. “Since McDonald’s hasn’t shown it can protect us, we are suing to make sure the company prioritizes our lives over burgers and fries.”
The lawsuit focuses on four McDonald’s restaurants in Chicago, including franchise and corporate-run shops, claiming the plaintiffs often work in close contact with colleagues in kitchens and are regularly exposed to the public at drive-thrus and to-go service areas, which have remained open during the pandemic.
At one store, workers said the company has not provided hand sanitizer and gave out masks and gloves only after workers went on strike — and even then, they were given only one mask to wear repeatedly. At another store, managers allegedly didn’t tell workers when one of the plaintiffs tested positive for COVID-19 — with one co-worker telling the plaintiff she learned of it through Facebook.
McDonald’s responded in a statement that its employees’ “safety and well-being is a top priority.” The company said protective gear was “in ample supply for all restaurants,” adding that more than 100 million masks had been distributed nationwide., sending guidance last week to its franchises on how to do so, including recommending more frequent cleaning of bathrooms and practicing social distancing.