McJobs

McDonald's has announced it plans to hire an additional 50,000 employees. It also said it intended to gentrify the pejorative term "McJobs" making it mean something better than low wage no benefit work.

Fired!

The manager of the Florida McDonald's who told a transgendered applicant, employment would not be offered to "faggots," has been fired. The manager actually called the applicant and left a "hateful voicemail." The adverse action against the manager was based upon the employer's non-discrimination policy which was interpreted to include discrimination against LGBT. The State of Florida does not have a law protecting LGBT. This case underscores the importance of thinking before leaving a voicemail, as well as the fact employers can use a lot of reasons broader than the law to justify termination of an employee.

McDonald's liable for prank call

In a Kentucky McDonald's in 2004, a prank caller convinced an assistant manager to interrogate an 18 year old employee. The caller, claiming to be a police officer investigating a theft, convinced the assistant manager to take the employee's clothes and hold her in an office for several hours. A video of the ordeal which includes an interview with the victim and the assistant manager as well as graphic surveillance video of the incident is posted on You Tube. On Friday an appellate court upheld a jury verdict awarding $6.1 million in punitive and compensatory damages to the employee. The opinion is here. This case turns on state law issues, including workers compensation exclusive remedy and employer liability for third party criminal acts. But the killer fact was a hoax caller had duped McDonald's more than thirty times between 1994 and 2004. The court noted that McDonald's had not taken steps to warn or train its managers about the calls.