Son Of McDonald’s Franchisee Says Dad Made Employee Send Texts To Prostitutes

(consumerist)

(consumerist)

In one of the more bizarre stories I’ve come across in recent memory, the son of a McDonald’s franchisee in Pennsylvania has accused his father of indulging in various forms of sexual harassment, including telling an employee to help him text prostitutes.

PennLive.com reports that the son, who was reportedly fired from his job with the family-owned franchises back in July, filed a complaint in August with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and McDonald HQ, requesting an investigation into allegations of harassment by his father.

According to the complaint, the franchisee is “obsessed with female prostitutes and strippers who perform exotic dances on stage and in private lap-dance booths at local and out-of-state ‘gentleman’s club’ establishments” and allegedly roped a female manager into aiding in his communication with sex workers, as the 72-year-old didn’t know how to send text messages.

The son also claims that his father made racially charged remarks to employees, giving the example of a time he supposedly asked a black field service manager, “Why not ride with me, I’ve never been with a black woman before.”

The father denied the allegations, telling PennLive, “[T]his situation stems from a personal family matter. The EEOC charge does not have merit, and I intend to defend the claims vigorously. However, since there is an EEOC case pending, I do not plan to provide further comment.”

For its part, McDonald’s HQ is pretty much staying out of this family fray:

“[The franchisee] is an independent owner/operator of McDonald’s restaurants. McDonald’s expects all of its franchisees to comply with all applicable laws when operating their franchise businesses. It is our understanding that this matter is currently pending before the EEOC. McDonald’s trusts that the process will permit both parties to present evidence supporting their respective positions, however, McDonald’s is not a party to that proceeding and will not comment further.”

Local McDonald’s owner subject of son’s harassment, prostitution-related complaints [PennLive.com]

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