Minnesota joins lawsuit against McDonald's franchisee alleging sexual harassment, misconduct

The state of Minnesota this week joined a lawsuit accusing a McDonald's franchisee of failing to intervene to protect a 14-year-old employee from sexual assaults from her 24-year-old manager.

The lawsuit accuses the franchisee, Hyder Investments, of creating a hostile workplace environment that allowed sexual harassment and discrimination, resulting in the manager at the company's Maple Grove McDonald's "grooming" the teenager for a sexual encounter.

Other employees of power were told and did not intervene, the lawsuit said, and the overall process for reporting misdeeds was faulty. The manager has since pleaded guilty to a sexual misconduct count in connection with the case.

"The case is itself shocking," said Rebecca Lucero, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, the agency that on Tuesday joined the parent's lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court. "The phone number the company provided in its employee handbook was literally XXX-XXX-XXXX. How is a 14-year-old supposed to navigate that?"

Shahab Hyder, president of Hyder Investments, said in an e-mailed statement that the claims "go against everything we stand for as an organization, and we will review them and respond accordingly."

His franchise, Hyder said, provides routine sexual harassment training and has strict policies for all crew members.

The original civil lawsuit was filed by the teen's mother on Dec. 10. Her parents, through their attorney, said this week in an e-mail: "What happened to our daughter is tragic and illegal. When we agreed to have our young daughter go to work at McDonald's we expected that she would be safe and protected. That did not happen. Making the decision to file this lawsuit was not an easy one, but we have made the difficult decision with the hope that no child, or family, will have to go through this again."

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights reported that at least 50 U.S. McDonald's employees have sued the restaurant giant over such problems during the last five years.

It further noted that this summer the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued McDonald's franchisee owners in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado for sexual harassment of young employees. It also cited a Pennsylvania law firm that sued a McDonald's owner in Pittsburgh for similar allegations.

In Minnesota, Kaarin Nelson Schaffer, one of the plaintiff's attorneys, said her Minneapolis firm is also handling a second sexual harassment case against a McDonald's franchise owner in this state.

Lucero said the restaurant industry as a whole has a problem with sexual harassment.

"It's not just a McDonald's problem, it's a service industry problem and it has to stop," she said. "Workers, especially young workers, have the right to be safe at work."

When the workers walked off the job in October, McDonald's corporate office said company leaders know "more work is needed to further our workplace ambitions."

"Every single person working at a McDonald's restaurant deserves to feel safe and respected when they come to work, and sexual harassment and assault have no place in any McDonald's restaurant," the corporation's statement said. "Global brand standards prioritize action in multiple areas, including prevention of harassment, discrimination and retaliation and ensuring everyone understands and acts under a common set of McDonald's expectations for a safe and respectful workplace."

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Lucero said that two supervisors at the McDonald's franchisee, Hyder Investments, knew about the illegal relationship but failed to report it, intervene or stop the abuse The lawsusit also said the franchisee, which owns at least 11 McDonald's locations in the Twin Cities, failed to properly train or supervise shift managers who were often in charge of much younger workers.

The lawsuit said at first the girl rebuffed shift manager trainee Andrew Albertorio's sexual advances, but then apologized because she feared the tension it was creating. Albertorio continued to flirt with the girl in person at work and via the company's scheduling Snapchat channel, the lawsuit said.

Although against company policy for workers under 16 to enter walk-in coolers or the company rooftop, the manager trainee still told the teen to work in or go to those places, where he repeatedly followed and assaulted her, the lawsuit said.

Hyder said all claims of sexual harassment or misconduct are investigated and reported within 24 hours to the McDonald's human resources team.

"In addition we have an open-door policy to report any inappropriate behavior as well as visible signage displaying a phone number crew can call to report any misconduct," he said regarding his restaurant. "The safety and well-being of my crew has always been a top priority."

Lucero said she ultimately wants the McDonald's case to result in compensation to the victim, clearly stated employment policies against sexual harassment, to have those policies strictly enforced and to see employee training implemented.

On Jan. 2, 2019, the girl's parents learned of the illegal relationship and called police. While police notified McDonald's management of the allegations, Albertorio was allowed to continue working and supervising other minors at the restaurant until he was arrested Jan. 17, 2019, the complaint said.

One day after his arrest, McDonald's fired Albertorio. However, he was fired "for violating its drug and alcohol-free workplace policy" and not for his conduct toward the teenager, the lawsuit said.