McDonald’s employees from 19 U.S. cities have filed official complaints against the fast-food giant decrying alleged workplace safety issues.
The allegations were announced Monday after several workers stepped forward, telling the media that they were told by McDonald’s managers to treat burns with ketchup and mustard, instead of first aid cream.
“The managers constantly push us to work fast,” Brittney Berry, one McDonald’s employee told NBC News. “I’ve been repeatedly burned on the job.”
A total of 28 complaints were filed with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as state workplace safety agencies. The grievances were announced by a labor organizing group called Fight for $15. The group has launched a petition asking the U.S. Department of Labor to look into safety issues at fast-food restaurants.
Fight for $15 also put together a video slamming McDonald’s for the complaints. In it, an 8-year employee of the company tells an alarming story about an injury she suffered on the job.
“I told the manager, I said, ‘I got burned pretty bad. Do we have any cream in the first aid kit?’,” said the woman, only identified as C.B. “Their response was, ‘Just put some mustard on it. That will take the burning out of it.’”
A video produced by the labor organizing group Fight for $15, alleging safety issues faced by McDonald's employees.
According to research, being told to use condiments on burns is nothing new for fast-food employees. The Guardian (UK) cited a study that found 33 percent of fast-food workers who were burned on the job were told by a manager to treat the injury with condiments.
After the claims were made, McDonald’s officials told Reuters on Monday, “We will review these allegations.”
Clint Davis is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.
