McDonald’s Faces California Labor Lawsuits

Los Angeles, CA McDonald’s faces several California labor lawsuits alleging the company violated California labor law in its treatment of employees. Four lawsuits were filed in California, alleging violations of California labor code, while two lawsuits were reportedly filed in Michigan and one was filed in New York.

According to the Los Angeles Times (3/13/14), lawsuits filed against McDonald’s allege the fast food chain did not pay employees for all hours worked, failed to properly compensate for overtime and breaks, and illegally changed pay records.

Meanwhile, the lawsuits in Michigan allege McDonald’s employees were prevented from clocking in for pay until customers came to the restaurant, even if they had been required to be onsite before then. Included in the lawsuits is a claim that the company uses software to set a labor-cost-to-revenue ration target and when that target is exceeded, employees who were clocked in for their shifts are forced to clock out until the target ratio is once again achieved. Further, the lawsuit alleges McDonald’s made employees pay for their own uniforms, pushing their wages below minimum wage.

The lawsuit in New York alleges workers were required to pay for the cost of cleaning their uniforms. “The plaintiffs contend that McDonald’s failure to reimburse employees for uniform cleaning violates the New York state requirement to pay workers weekly for uniform maintenance and often also violates both federal and state minimum wage laws,” attorneys for the plaintiffs said.

The Associated Press (3/13/14) reports that approximately 30,000 employees could be affected by the lawsuit. Both company-owned and franchise-owned McDonald’s restaurants are named in the lawsuits, which seek back pay and compensatory damages.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the company’s practices not only violated state and federal laws but also caused “substantial financial burden” for the employees.

The lawsuits were filed on March 12 and 13. Earlier in 2014, a McDonald’s franchise in Pennsylvania reportedly agreed to pay more than $200,000 in back pay and wages to around 300 employees after the Department of Labor accused the company of improperly deducting wages from paychecks and not properly paying overtime. According to the Examiner (2/19/14), in 2012 the Department of Labor fined a franchise in Denver more than $55,000 for violations of minimum wage and recordkeeping.