MCDONALD'S FRANCHISE SUED BY EEOC FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Management Allowed Disabled Worker to be Insulted and Threatened, Federal Agency Charges

PHILADELPHIA  – A Philadelphia-based McDonald’s franchise violated federal civil rights law  when it condoned the harassment of a worker with an intellectual disability, the  Equal Employ­ment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced  today.

Timothy  Artis was discriminated against based on his disability when he was repeatedly  called degrading names and subjected to physical threats, according to the  EEOC’s suit against Alstrun LLP, doing business as McDonald’s, filed in U.S.  District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No.  09-4347. Artis successfully performed  his duties as a lot and lobby worker, but his supervisors, other managers and  co-workers repeatedly called him derogatory names such as “dumb,” “retarded”  and “stupid.” The harassment included  being physically grabbed and shoved. On  one occasion, a co-worker even threatened him with a box cutter, the EEOC  charged. Artis was also forced to  perform hazardous duties outside of his job description, such as removing a  raccoon from a trash can.

The  restaurant failed to stop the harassment despite repeated complaints from Artis’s  mother about the mistreatment and abuse, the EEOC said. Artis was forced to quit due to the ongoing  harassment.
 
  The Americans With  Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination and harassment based on  disability. The EEOC attempted to  reach a voluntary settlement before filing suit. The EEOC is seeking injunctive relief to  prevent future harassment, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

During Fiscal Year 2008, disability  discrimination charges rose to 19,453-- an increase of 10 percent from the prior  fiscal year and the highest number of disability charges filed with the EEOC in  14 years.

“The ADA was enacted to ensure that qualified employees with  intellectual disabilities would have the right to work without being subjected to  physical threats or demeaning and humiliating taunts,” said Acting Regional  Attorney Debra Lawrence of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, which  oversees Pennsylvania, Delaware,  West Virginia, Maryland  and parts of New Jersey and Ohio.  “This lawsuit should remind employers that the EEOC will not allow  harassment of disabled employees to go unchallenged.”

According  to company records, Alstrun LLP operates five McDonald’s franchises in  Pennsylvania.

The EEOC enforces federal laws  prohibiting employment discrimination. Further  information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.