Former baseball player Herb Washington, a black male, reportedly filed a lawsuit against the fast-food giant McDonald’s for mistreating employees based on the color of their skin. Washington was said to have owned “over a dozen restaurants” throughout the Pennsylvania and Ohio areas where he first noticed the favoritism involved within the company. He claimed that the white owners were being given better treatment and more opportunities to succeed, while he was denied the chance to expand his restaurants in more fruitful communities. A representative of the business model stated in response to Herb’s accusations that they were providing him the payment of “no more than what we deem a fair price for the value of the restaurants,” specifically referring to Washington.
The McDonald’s spokesperson went on to add, “While we were confident in the strength of our case, this resolution aligns with McDonald’s values and enables us to continue focusing on our commitments to the communities that we serve… Discrimination has no place at McDonald’s.” The case was filed in the U.S. Court District of Youngstown, Ohio where the business owner searched for some sort of justice from his racial discrimination assumptions. Resulting in his favor, one of the most notable pillars in the fast-food industry consented to pay $33.5 million USD to Washington in order to sweep away the entire case, both parties made the mutual agreement.
This specific scenario happens to be coincidentally close to another racial situation that was reported within the fast-food chain back in September 2020. Over 50 African American branch owners came together to sue the business on accusations that they were “offended to buy stores in poor areas that have higher security and insurance costs and were denied things like rent assistance during renovations that they said white owners were given,” reports from the previous case claim. The corporation recently announced that they will be giving $250 million to recruit and support colored citizens over the next five years, in another attempt at putting the negative racial conversations throughout their business to rest.