A McDonald's franchisee has agreed to strengthen its sexual harassment policies and hold regular trainings on workplace conduct at its 14 restaurants to resolve a lawsuit by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
The state filed a consent decree Wednesday laying out the negotiated agreement with the franchisee, Hyder Investments, in Hennepin County District Court.
In December 2021, the Human Rights Department joined a lawsuit against the franchisee alleging the company fostered a culture of sexual harassment and failed to intervene after a 24-year-old manager at a McDonald's in Maple Grove repeatedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old employee at work. The lawsuit was initially filed by the teen's mother.
The manager later pleaded guilty to a count of criminal sexual misconduct.
The lawsuit contended that supervisors knew about the assaults but did nothing to stop them. It also said that the franchisee provided a telephone number made up of "X"s instead of real numbers for employees to call to report sexual harassment.
As part of the consent decree, Hyder has agreed to create and enforce policies that prevent and address sexual harassment and make them easily accessible to employees. They must be provided in all languages spoken by workers.
The franchisee also committed to regular training and to put in place multiple ways employees can report unwelcome conduct, harassment or other complaints, including a 24-hour telephone or email hotline, and to allow reporting parties to remain anonymous.
The company has agreed to talk about these issues at biannual employee meetings, including a portion of the meeting when supervisors are not present so employees can speak more freely, and to work with human resources on a report to track employee concerns and actions taken in response.
