McDonald’s to Pay $56.5K to Settle Federal Discrimination Case in Missouri

McDonald’s will pay a $56,500 settlement after a southeast Missouri restaurant manager refused to interview a deaf job applicant.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement with McDonald’s Corp. and McDonald’s Restaurants. A message seeking comment from the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company was not immediately returned.

The EEOC says a young man who can’t hear or speak applied online in 2012 to work at the McDonald’s in Belton, Missouri. He had previous experience as a cook and cleanup team member at a McDonald’s restaurant in another state.

A lawsuit filed by the EEOC says that when the restaurant manager learned the applicant needed a sign language interpreter for his interview, she canceled the interview, even though the applicant’s sister volunteered to interpret.

The settlement also requires McDonald’s, which has sold the Belton restaurant, to ensure that the new owner trains management employees on the ADA’s requirements, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants and employees. The restaurant will also maintain a telephone line that applicants can call to request accommodation, and McDonald’s will submit annual compliance reports to EEOC.

The case is EEOC v. McDonald’s Corporation, et al.