Oklahoma McDonald’s Franchisee Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

A McDonald’s franchisee in Oklahoma has settled a federal lawsuit alleging a teenage worker was sexually harassed by a male supervisor.

Arch Fellow North, LLC, owner and operator of eight McDonald’s restaurants in eastern Oklahoma, will pay $80,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a teenage worker, the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an adult male supervisor sexually harassed the teenage worker for about a month in November 2021. When Arch Fellow North learned about the supervisor’s sexual harassment, it failed to properly investigate the allegations and allowed the supervisor to continue supervising the teenage victim and other young workers. As a result, the teenage victim had to quit.

The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. The EEOC filed suit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arch Fellow North LLC d/b/a McDonald’s, Civil Action No. 6:23-cv-00331) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process.

In addition to the $80,000 in monetary relief in the consent decree, Arch Fellow North will designate personnel to ensure its compliance with Title VII, enact strong policies and procedures for reporting and handling sexual harassment complaints, and provide for mandatory training for supervisors and non-supervisory employees.

Source: EEOC