McDonald’s is among the largest fast-food chains in the world. The global organization is present in about 120 countries all over the planet. Even though its leaders take proactive steps to create decent working conditions for their employees at all levels, labor issues often arise. The company has recently faced three new sexual harassment lawsuits, and workers emphasize that managers fail to address the problem or even ignore it.
Sexual harassment is a serious legal issue, which employers must avert to protect their employees and maintain a good public image. Murad notes that “the law recognizing sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination applies to private employers with 15 or more employees” (par. 2). The fast-food chain has over 200,000 workers worldwide, and many of them may suffer from their colleagues’ inappropriate behavior. For example, according to Taylor, three McDonald’s employees have filed sexual-harassment lawsuits in recent weeks (par. 1). However, the gravest problem is that they claim that managers within the company failed to tackle their issues properly or completely ignored them.
On the other hand, the organization’s leaders have made much effort to prevent sexual harassment cases and handle them successfully if they occur. For instance, the hotline allowing employees to express their concerns was introduced, the new training program addressing harassment was developed, and the organization’s values were reemphasized (Taylor par. 8, 20, 21). Undoubtedly, the company positively approached the problem, though the results are not likely to be lasting. McDonald’s has faced multiple similar cases in the past, and they still constantly occur. It means that the organization must change its methods and address the issue differently to increase employees’ satisfaction and avoid public criticism.
References
Murad, Khadija. “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.” NCSL, 2020. Web.
Taylor, Kate. “McDonald’s Slammed with 3 New Sexual-Harassment Lawsuits as Workers Say the Fast-Food Giant Failed to Protect Them on the Job.” Business Insider, 2021. Web.