MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) is accusing a McDonald's franchisee for violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act by "fostering a culture of sexual harassment" at one of its businesses in Maple Grove.
On Tuesday, MDHR filed to join a lawsuit against Hyder Investments, Inc. which operates 11 McDonald's restaurant franchise locations in the metro area.
The complaint says in 2018 a 24-year-old manager at a Maple Grove McDonald's sexually assaulted a 14-year-old employee at the restaurant, located on Sycamore Lane.
"Workers – especially young workers – have the right to be safe at work. Here, McDonald's failed to create a safe workplace when a manager repeatedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old worker," said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero in a press release.
The complaint alleges that supervisors knew about the sexual harassment and failed to do anything about it.
"Employers must create a culture where its employees can work with dignity, free from sexual harassment and assault. This lawsuit is a reminder that, in fact, employers have a legal obligation to do so," Lucero said.
Also, MDHR officials said the company's sexual harassment policies were useless.
"For example, the policy said that someone could call and report sexual harassment, but provided a fake telephone number, XXX-XXX-XXXX, made up solely of the letter "X" instead of an actual phone number," according to the press release.
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