Black McDonald’s Workers Allege They Were Called “Ghetto,” Received Reduced Hours, And Were Wrongfully Terminated

A group of former McDonald’s employees has filed a lawsuit against the fast-food company, citing racial discrimination.

According to the Business Insider, former employees Selynda Middlebrook, Stephanie Stevens, and Luther Gray—who will act on his minor daughter A.G.’s behalf, came together to file suit Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Stevens and Middlebrook, as well as Gray’s 17-year-old daughter, who also worked at the location, claimed Black employees were called “ghetto” by the location’s general manager.

The suit also alleged that other employees—assuming employees not identified as people of color—labeled Black co-workers “lazy” or “smelly.” Furthermore, Black employees also reportedly received fewer work hours than non-black employees, according to the complaint.

Middlebrook called out the general manager for saying she was a “waste of space” and said her hours were reduced in the earlier part of 2020. As a result, she said she struggled to support her newborn. Middlebrook is the niece of Stevens, who stood up to the general manager by saying she shouldn’t talk to employees in a “discriminatory and demeaning manner.” She was fired that same day.

“We are sick and tired of being considered less than human and not even worthy of life,” Middlebrook said on a call with reporters on Tuesday.

The recently filed lawsuit is now the fourth racial-discrimination suit against the fast-food chain in 2020. The owner of the Illinois location issued a statement: “I am deeply committed to running a values-led organization, and discrimination, harassment or retaliation of any kind are not tolerated in my restaurants,” Trina Gendron said. “I take these allegations seriously and am currently reviewing the complaint and investigating these allegations.”

The suit hopes to highlight the ongoing systemic racism going on in McDonald’s culture.

In January, two executives sued the company for racial discrimination and “cruel” retaliation. By July, a second was filed by another trio of McDonald’s employees who said they also experienced racial discrimination at a Florida location. Those same plaintiffs chose to amend their complaint about what they said was retaliation on McDonald’s behalf; according to the amended portion, the company fired two individuals involved in the suit.

Then, 52 Black former franchise owners united to file a racial-discrimination case after they discovered they were not provided the same opportunities as white franchisees. The coalition also said they were forced out of the company.

“The top-down systemic racism evident in McDonald’s C-suite, as evidenced by recent allegations by Black executives and Black franchisees, reaches down to the restaurant level, where individual managers and franchisees are not held accountable for engaging in, and failing to prevent, discrimination on the basis of race,” the complaint read.

However, in response, the food chain released a statement, saying, “McDonald’s is committed to leading with values and does not tolerate retaliation,” adding that, “The allegations that employees were terminated for any reason related to ongoing litigation is categorically false.”