McDonald's must face Black ex-executives' harassment, retaliation claims

By Daniel Wiessner

March 18 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Chicago on Wednesday said two former McDonald's vice presidents can proceed with their lawsuit that they were criticized and subjected to racial slurs because they are Black women, and then forced out of the company for complaining.

In a mixed ruling for McDonald's, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland dismissed claims that the fast-food giant discriminated against Victoria Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal by passing them over for a promotion, saying they had not shown they were the best candidates for the role they had both sought.

But Rowland said allegations in the 2020 lawsuit that a regional president had criticized "Black woman attitude" and described one of the plaintiffs and other McDonald's employees as "angry Black women" were enough for their hostile work environment claims to move forward.

"Courts confronted with accusations regarding 'angry Black women' have noted that this epithet carries significant harm with it," especially when made by a supervisor, Rowland wrote.

McDonald's and lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

McDonald's has faced several high-profile lawsuits in recent years alleging intentional discrimination against Black employees, franchisees and business partners.

In 2022, a different federal judge in Chicago dismissed a lawsuit by more than 50 McDonald's franchisees claiming the company had steered Black franchisees toward less profitable locations, while granting leave to amend. McDonald's motion to dismiss an amended complaint is pending.

The company last year settled a $10 billion lawsuit by media entrepreneur Byron Allen accusing the fast-food chain of excluding Black-owned media from much of its advertising budget. The terms were not disclosed but McDonald's said it would involve buying ads from Allen's companies.

McDonald's last year also settled on undisclosed terms with a Black former security executive who claimed he was pushed out after criticizing CEO Chris Kempczinski over text messages appearing to blame the parents of a girl shot in a McDonald's drive-thru for her death. Kempczinski later publicly apologized and said the texts "reveal my narrow worldview that I have to work hard to correct."

Last year, the company rolled back some of its diversity policies, including goals for corporate leadership, citing a "shifting legal landscape" as President Donald Trump took office and moved to eradicate DEI practices in government and the private sector. Trump administration officials have suggested that some common workplace diversity initiatives are unlawful, and many other major companies have retreated from DEI programs in response.

The plaintiffs in Wednesday's case both had received various promotions throughout their time at McDonald's and ultimately became vice presidents of "Quality, Service, and Cleanliness," according to court filings.

They claim in the lawsuit that they were both passed over for a different vice president role in 2017 and then demoted to the role of "operations officers" during a restructuring the following year. They also allege that after filing the lawsuit, Neal was fired and Guster-Hines was forced to retire.

McDonald's in court filings has denied wrongdoing and said Neal was fired over her treatment of coworkers and creating a toxic workplace.

The case is Guster-Hines v. McDonald's USA, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:20-cv-00117.

For the plaintiffs: Daniel Twetten and Jonathan Loevy of Loevy & Loevy

For McDonald's: Nigel Telman, Edward Young and Atoyia Harris of Proskauer Rose

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