The owner of a McDonald’s restaurant in Canton, OH, may have gone a little too far in attempting to get out the vote for the candidates he supports in tomorrow’s election when he placed notes in his employees’ pay envelopes saying their pay and benefits were at risk if certain nominees didn’t win.

The pamphlet included with the staffers’ pay was in support of three candidates up for election. It said, “If the right people are elected, we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above the current levels. If others are elected, we will not.”

A rep at McDonald’s HQ tells the NY Times that the owner’s decision to distribute the pamphlets in his employees’ pay was an “unfortunate lapse in judgment” on the owner’s part and that “he’s disappointed with himself.”

Through the corporate rep, the eatery owner released a statement saying, “For those that I have offended, I sincerely apologize.”

The owner’s decision to hand out the pamphlets the way he did might have violated a 1953 Ohio statute that prohibits political material from being attached to wage envelopes.

McDonald’s Workers Are Told Whom to Vote for [NY Times]

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