McDonald’s Lawsuit Alleges Discrimination Against Black Executives and Employees | Eater
"Two senior franchising executives, Victoria Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal, filed a lawsuit in Illinois alleging a systematic purge and discrimination against African Americans in senior leadership and among franchisees — claiming that the company “demoted or severed ties” with 31 of 37 African American officers — and describing a hostile, abusive workplace that included threats, derogatory comments and racist slurs. The complaint accuses former CEO Steve Easterbrook and current CEO Chris Kempczinski of being overtly hostile to African Americans and of excluding them from diversity initiatives (citing Easterbrook’s 2016 remark that “diversity” meant “women” and Kempczinski’s 2019 comment that the “numbers [of African Americans] don’t matter”). It also alleges that rebranding toward a sleeker, more modern image under Easterbrook coincided with losses of African-American customers and franchisees, implying they did not fit the new image. The suit follows Easterbrook’s firing last year for a consensual relationship with an employee and the promotion of Kempczinski; the company responds that it disagrees with the complaint, notes that 45% of U.S. corporate officers are people of color and that all U.S. field vice presidents are people of color, and says it is reviewing and will respond to the allegations." - Jaya Saxena
