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McDonald's facing discrimination lawsuit

Two top-level black McDonald's executives filed a federal lawsuit against the QSR.

Photo: iStock

January 8, 2020

McDonald's is the target of a federal lawsuit filed in its home state of Illinois Tuesday where two black executives said the QSR created a hostile work environment for them and other African American employees. The plaintiffs in Tuesday's action said the alleged discrimination ultimately resulted in their demotions, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal. 

McDonald's Dallas-based Senior Directors Vicki Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal alleged in the suit that the international fast food chain regularly passed over them and other black executives. As a result, the pair alleged that the number of top black executives at the brand has fallen to seven — one-sixth the level it was five years ago when 42 held such roles. 

Two days before Tuesday's federal court filing, the Wall Street Journal published an article that pointed to what the newspaper said had been a "party culture," at McDonald's. The report followed a change in CEOs early last November, when former CEO Steve Easterbrook stepped down after admitting to a consensual relationship with another employee, which is forbidden under McDonald's corporate policy. 

Tuesday's federal claim named Easterbrook as well as current CEO Chris Kempczinski and Western U.S. Zone President Charlie Strong, who are all white men. The suit alleged that racial discrimination at the QSR grew in 2015 when Easterbrook joined and hired Kempczinski. Strong, according to the company's website, has been in his position with the company since 2014, where he "leads strategy, talent and brand development … for more than 5,700 McDonald's restaurants across the Western United States."

In an email to QSRweb, a McDonald's spokesperson said that over the last five years the company has decreased the number of officer-level positions overall, and as a result, any decrease in representation of African-American officers would be broadly proportional to the decrease of all officers over the last several years. However, no specific numbers were provided regarding how many officers were cut and how that affected the remaining number of African-American executives in such roles. 

The spokesperson said Kempczinski prioritizes diversity and gender balance, pointing out that more than half of the CEO's leaders were women and/or people of color. 

"At McDonald’s, our actions are rooted in our belief that a diverse, vibrant, inclusive and respectful company makes us stronger," the company said in a statement to QSRweb. "In the U.S., in particular, 45% of corporate officers are people of color, and all of the U.S. field vice presidents are people of color.

"While we disagree with characterizations in the complaint, we are currently reviewing it and will respond to the complaint accordingly."