McDonalds franchisee will pay to settle sex bias, retaliation suit
- May 26, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Finance
A Rutland, Vermont-based McDonald’s Corp. franchisee will pay $1.6 million to settle a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which charged that a night shift manager sexually harassed employees, most of whom were teens.
Coughlin Inc. operates 10 McDonald’s restaurants in Vermont and New Hampshire. The EEOC lawsuit charged that the manager at its Randolph, Vermont, location allegedly touched the workers inappropriately and subjected them to sexually explicit, derogatory comments and threats of physical harm.
He also allegedly retaliated against at least one employee by revoking her disability-related reasonable accommodation and forcing her to quit after she complained, the EEOC said.
The EEOC lawsuit was filed with the state of Vermont and the estate of Jennie Lumbra, the employee who filed the original discrimination charge with the agency.
Under terms of the settlement, workers subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation and Ms. Lumbra’s estate will be paid $1,475,000 in lost wages and compensatory damages. Coughlin will also pay $125,000 in civil penalties to Vermont.
The five-year settlement decree requires the company to hire an independent monitor to oversee Coughlin’s compliance with the decree, among other provisions.
EEOC New York District Director Judy Keenan said in a statement, “Unfortunately, sexual harassment remains prevalent in the fast-food industry. We applaud Coughlin’s willingness to begin making changes necessary to combat discrimination in its workplace and provide a safer and better working environment for its employees, many of whom are working their first job.”
The company’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, two Canadian-based hotel operators agreed to pay $370,000 to settle an EEOC sexual harassment lawsuit that charged them with permitting a male maintenance/housekeeping manager to sexually harass two female housekeepers.
