Legal news for New Jersey employment attorneys. The EEOC sued McDonald’s for sexual harassment
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alerts New Jersey employment lawyers- The EEOC filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against McDonald’s.
Middlesex County, NJ– The world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, McDonald’s Corporation, has been accused by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) http://www.eeoc.gov/ for allowing male employees to be the victims of sexual harassment by a female supervisor. The employment lawsuit was filed on September 30, 2009 in the federal court in Newark, New Jersey, as reported by Bloomberg.
The lawsuit, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. McDonald’s USA, 2:09-cv-5028, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark), claims a teenage crew worker at a Perth Amboy restaurant location was subjected to sexual harassment since August 2007. According to the lawsuit, a teenage worker, who was 16 and 17-years-old at the time, experienced unwarranted comments pertaining to his appearance by a female assistant manager. McDonald’s reportedly allowed the supervisor to “physically grab, touch, spank, hug, and pinch the Charging Party and other male employees without their consent because of their sex.” The lawsuit claims, McDonald’s “has engaged in unlawful employment practices” by “creating and maintaining a hostile work environment based on sex”. The plaintiff also claims the sexual harassment has deprived the worker of “equal employment opportunities and otherwise adversely affects his status as an employee because of his sex.”
The EEOC is seeking to establish a permanent injunction to keep the fast food giant from discriminating on the basis of sex. The lawsuit is also asking for McDonald’s to “institute and carry out policies, practices, and programs that provide equal employment practices for males, which would eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful employment practices.” In addition, the lawsuit is asking the judge to award the worker past and future pecuniary losses; damages for pain, suffering and humiliation; and punitive damages for “malicious and reckless” behavior.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for New Jersey employment lawyers.