Alleging that McDonald's had failed to adopt and implement government safety guidance on Covid-19, thereby putting the lives of the employees and their families in danger of being infected with the disease, five employees of the company in Chicago filed a class action lawsuit against the chain on Tuesday.
According to a copy of the lawsuit provided to the media by a spokesman for the workers, the company had not informed the other employees after it had found out that one of the staff members had got infected with the novel coronavirus. The aggrieved employees also alleged that the company did not also provide hand sanitizer, gloves and masks kin adequate numbers for the employees to stay safe and uninfected.
While claiming that the company had put the safety, including wellness checks and protective gear, at its top priority, McDonald's called the allegations as being inaccurate, in a statement.
The workers sought an injunction to be issued by the Illinois state court so that the company could be forced to stop making the staff from reusing masks as well as forcing the company to make it mandatory for its customers to wear face coverings. The employees also requested the court to order the company to immediately inform the staff if an employee got infected.
In a separate move, administrative actions over allegedly unsafe conditions with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, was filed by McDonald's workers at three California locations on Tuesday.
Fears of getting sick of Covid-19 has forced many employees of restaurants, warehouses and other essential businesses that were operating during the novel coronavirus pandemic to conduct protests and even walk out of their jobs in many parts of the United States.
Even though there have been warnings from trade groups about a wave of litigation over the pandemic, till now very limited number of cases have been filed.
Death of employees because of the coronavirus infection had prompted case filing against retailer Walmart Inc and meat producers JBS SA and Tyson Foods Inc.
Groups of employees demanding safety measures in a lawsuit that alleged the company was a public nuisance just as in the McDonald's case, also filed cases against Smithfield Foods Inc. however that case was dismissed quickly since the judge said that the issue of workplace conditions and safety were a matter for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the Department of Labor
(Source:www.usnews.com)
According to a copy of the lawsuit provided to the media by a spokesman for the workers, the company had not informed the other employees after it had found out that one of the staff members had got infected with the novel coronavirus. The aggrieved employees also alleged that the company did not also provide hand sanitizer, gloves and masks kin adequate numbers for the employees to stay safe and uninfected.
While claiming that the company had put the safety, including wellness checks and protective gear, at its top priority, McDonald's called the allegations as being inaccurate, in a statement.
The workers sought an injunction to be issued by the Illinois state court so that the company could be forced to stop making the staff from reusing masks as well as forcing the company to make it mandatory for its customers to wear face coverings. The employees also requested the court to order the company to immediately inform the staff if an employee got infected.
In a separate move, administrative actions over allegedly unsafe conditions with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, was filed by McDonald's workers at three California locations on Tuesday.
Fears of getting sick of Covid-19 has forced many employees of restaurants, warehouses and other essential businesses that were operating during the novel coronavirus pandemic to conduct protests and even walk out of their jobs in many parts of the United States.
Even though there have been warnings from trade groups about a wave of litigation over the pandemic, till now very limited number of cases have been filed.
Death of employees because of the coronavirus infection had prompted case filing against retailer Walmart Inc and meat producers JBS SA and Tyson Foods Inc.
Groups of employees demanding safety measures in a lawsuit that alleged the company was a public nuisance just as in the McDonald's case, also filed cases against Smithfield Foods Inc. however that case was dismissed quickly since the judge said that the issue of workplace conditions and safety were a matter for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the Department of Labor
(Source:www.usnews.com)
