McDonald's has been slapped with dozens of charges by the National Labor Relations Board for violating labor laws, with the NLRB arguing that the company and some of its franchises threatened employees who protested low wages.
The Times reports that the NLRB's general council has brought 78 labor violation charges against Ronald McDonald & Friends, arguing the company "illegally retaliated and made threats against workers" who advocated for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
The charges affect Regional offices in Manhattan, as well as in Los Angeles and 11 other cities, and claim "that McDonald’s and its franchisees illegally disciplined employees who had protested, reduced their hours, spied on them and restricted their ability to communicate with union representatives," according to the Times. Initially, the general counsel reportedly attempted to bring 291 charges against the company, and are still investigating 71 others, with 11 that have already been resolved.
The NLRB's charges are particularly significant in that they suggest McDonalds is liable for labor violations at its franchises—earlier this year, a federal court ruled that McDonald's is a joint employer with its franchisees. In a statement, McDonald's says the NLRB's charges "improperly and dramatically strikes at the heart of the franchise system — a system that creates economic opportunity, jobs and income for thousands of business owners and their employees," and say they plan to fight them. The charges could eventually make their way to federal court.
