52 Black Former Franchisees Sue McDonald’s For Racial Discrimination
According to The Hill, over 50 former McDonald’s franchisees are suing the fast-food giant for racial discrimination. The 52 Black plaintiffs claim they were denied them the same opportunities as White operators and pushed them out of the system, adding that McDonald’s violated federal anti-discrimination law and breached their contracts.
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The suit that was filed Tuesday in a federal court in Illinois, where the company is headquartered states the Black owners were sold second-rate stores and didn’t receive adequate business support from McDonald’s. It also says that they were guided toward neighborhoods where sales were lower while overhead was higher, which lead to a smaller profit, the news site notes.
“McDonald’s knew or should have known that these differential revenue and operating costs of Black-operated franchises as compared to White-operated franchises are not random or due to poor management,” the lawsuit said. “These differences are statistically significant and are the result of the historical racial bias and barriers built in to the McDonald’s franchise system.” The franchisees, who owned over 200 restaurants over the last 10 years, are now seeking up to $1 billion in damages, The Hill reports.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a video message on Tuesday morning:
“My priority is always to seek the truth. When allegations such as these occur, I want them investigated thoroughly and objectively,” Kempczinski continued. “That’s been our approach to this situation. Based upon our review, we disagree with the claims in this lawsuit and we intend to strongly defend against it.”
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