[US] McDonald’s workers win back jobs in COVID layoff case

In the US, a federal labour judge has ordered the reinstatement of four McDonald’s workers laid off by a Connecticut franchisee in 2020 and issued a warning shot to employers tempted to use COVID-19 as an excuse to get rid of union activists, Bloomberg Law reports.

The workers had participated in a public union campaign prior to the pandemic. They were furloughed in early 2020 from a McDonald’s Corp. restaurant at an Interstate 95 service plaza in Darien, Connecticut after the pandemic disrupted travel.

Many of their colleagues were also furloughed but their employer Michell Enterprises - a franchise company that owns several McDonald’s restaurants in the Northeast - recalled all its furloughed workers a few weeks later, with the exception of the four union supporters.

In a lengthy opinion, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Donna Dawson said the workers were unlawfully fired and ordered that they be reinstated and provided with back pay. The judge wrote that their employer “kept track of and were aware of various union rallies, events and press releases which included quotations and even photographs” of the four union supporters.

“I find based on the totality of the circumstances, including the almost complete unreliability of Respondent’s witnesses, that their arguments are without merit and that their reasons for its actions are based on pretext,” she added.

The workers have the backing of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 32BJ as part of a broader effort to organise workers under multiple brands at Connecticut highway rest areas, as organised labour works to gain a crucial foothold at McDonald’s and other fast-food chains. Three of the workers have additionally filed a lawsuit in Connecticut Superior Court under a state law requiring employers to re-hire laid-off pandemic workers before replacing them.

SEIU has reportedly taken on McDonald’s under the banner of the Fight for $15 labour campaign, instigating a legal battle over whether the company shared responsibility for labour law violations committed by franchisees and contractors. 

In 2019 the NLRB approved a $170,000 settlement with McDonald’s over its potential liability as a joint employer for alleged unfair labour practices, an outcome that was seen as a victory for the company.

Representatives for McDonald’s Corp. and an attorney for Michell Enterprises did not immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s emails seeking comment.

Source: Bloomberg Law

(Links and quote via original reporting)

In the US, a federal labour judge has ordered the reinstatement of four McDonald’s workers laid off by a Connecticut franchisee in 2020 and issued a warning shot to employers tempted to use COVID-19 as an excuse to get rid of union activists, Bloomberg Law reports.

The workers had participated in a public union campaign prior to the pandemic. They were furloughed in early 2020 from a McDonald’s Corp. restaurant at an Interstate 95 service plaza in Darien, Connecticut after the pandemic disrupted travel.

Many of their colleagues were also furloughed but their employer Michell Enterprises - a franchise company that owns several McDonald’s restaurants in the Northeast - recalled all its furloughed workers a few weeks later, with the exception of the four union supporters.

In a lengthy opinion, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Donna Dawson said the workers were unlawfully fired and ordered that they be reinstated and provided with back pay. The judge wrote that their employer “kept track of and were aware of various union rallies, events and press releases which included quotations and even photographs” of the four union supporters.

“I find based on the totality of the circumstances, including the almost complete unreliability of Respondent’s witnesses, that their arguments are without merit and that their reasons for its actions are based on pretext,” she added.

The workers have the backing of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 32BJ as part of a broader effort to organise workers under multiple brands at Connecticut highway rest areas, as organised labour works to gain a crucial foothold at McDonald’s and other fast-food chains. Three of the workers have additionally filed a lawsuit in Connecticut Superior Court under a state law requiring employers to re-hire laid-off pandemic workers before replacing them.

SEIU has reportedly taken on McDonald’s under the banner of the Fight for $15 labour campaign, instigating a legal battle over whether the company shared responsibility for labour law violations committed by franchisees and contractors. 

In 2019 the NLRB approved a $170,000 settlement with McDonald’s over its potential liability as a joint employer for alleged unfair labour practices, an outcome that was seen as a victory for the company.

Representatives for McDonald’s Corp. and an attorney for Michell Enterprises did not immediately respond to Bloomberg Law’s emails seeking comment.

Source: Bloomberg Law

(Links and quote via original reporting)