In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in the district court for western Virginia on Thursday, 10 former employees of McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) are alleging a pattern of racial and sexual discrimination and harassment at three of the company’s outlets in Clarkesville and South Boston, Va.

According to a press release from BerlinRosen, the complaint contends that McDonald’s controls virtually every aspect of its stores’ operations and, as a result is responsible for the harassment and discrimination these workers faced. The lawsuit names the corporation, McDonald’s USA and franchise owner Michael Simon, as well as his company Soweva, as defendants.

Last December the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said it would file complaints on 13 charges against the fast-food operator and its franchisees as “joint employers” unless the charges are settled. The lawsuit filed Thursday is the first since that ruling.

The BerlinRosen press release noted:

The suit … alleges the company last May simultaneously fired more than a dozen black workers who, “didn’t fit the profile” desired at its restaurants. The highest-ranking managers had told workers that it was “too dark” in the restaurants and that they “need to get the ghetto out of the store.”

The fired employees approached McDonald’s to help them get their jobs back but were told to take their problems to the franchise operator that had just fired them. Both the South Boston chapter of the NAACP and the organization called Fight for $15 are providing support for the workers in connection with Thursday’s lawsuit.

ALSO READ: The Easiest (and Hardest) Jobs to Keep

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.