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Loading ...McDonald’s settles gay discrimination case
05.07.2009 2:41pm EDT
(Louisville, Kentucky) McDonald’s has agreed to diversity training and a cash settlement, ending a human rights complaint by two men who were subjected to homophobic remarks by employees of a local restaurant.
Ryan Marlatt, Teddy Eggers, and three other friends had stopped for lunch at a McDonald’s restaurant on East Market Street on July 26, 2008 while visiting Louisville for the weekend.The men say that while they waited for their food to be prepared, an employee behind the counter referred to them as “faggots” to another employee.
Marlatt and Eggers then approached the cashier, said they didn’t come to the restaurant to be insulted, and asked to speak with a manager.
As they waited for the supervisor on duty to appear, the employee who had called them “faggots” started arguing with them, repeatedly calling them “faggots” in front of other customers and calling one of them a “cocksucker” and “bitch” according to the American Civil Liberties Union which is representing the two men.
Last September, Eggers and Marlatt filed an official complaint with the city of Louisville’s Human Relations Commission.
Under the agreement reached between McDonald’s and the ACLU of Kentucky, the company will provide diversity training for management at 30 of its Louisville-area restaurants and pay Eggers and Marlatt $2000 each.
“The reason we made such a big deal out of this to begin with was because we didn’t want it happening to anyone else, so I’m very glad McDonald’s management is going to be having these trainings,” said Eggers of Indianapolis, Indiana.
“We were hurt and upset, but at least we’re adults and can handle being called names. We hated thinking that this kind of harassment might also happen to someone young and vulnerable who would really take it to heart.”
Marlatt and Eggers say that the supervisor on duty refused to refund the group’s purchase, claiming that only the restaurant’s general manager could authorize a refund.
Marlatt said he attempted several times in the following weeks to contact both the general manager of the McDonald’s and the corporate offices. Though he filed reports with a corporate customer service number for McDonald’s, Marlatt said, he never received any sort of response, and every time he called the McDonald’s where the incident took place, the staff hung up on him.
“While we’re fortunate to have a law banning sexual orientation discrimination in Louisville, this goes to show that it’s still important to speak out and do something about it when your rights are violated,” said Michael Aldridge, Executive Director of the ACLU of Kentucky.
typical, a large company like this has no protections for its customers, and in the end could care less about things like this until it ends up in the news.
Two things I learned from reading this:
Another reason NOT to eat @ McDonalds
Don’t travel to Kentucky.
Rock on kids. Love it when people stand up for what is right. Like they said in the interview,” they are adults and can handle the name calling, but what if a young kid was attacked in that way. ”
I say it is about time someone told the rednecks, and I know not all rednecks are this way, that it is not ok to call someone names. Especially when you work in the customer service industry. No matter how you personally feel about gays and any other minority, you should not be spouting off in front of them. Everyone that was involved in this spat should have been fired. From the GM on down. But, that is just my opinion.
I’m glad McDonalds got called out on this. They are corporate sociopaths and bullied a small activist group in London who pointed out the toxicity of their “food.” McDonald’s “won” the case but lost the respect of the British public (and neighbouring Europeans). McDonalds never bothered to collect their damages, by the way, and the activists don’t have the money anyway. McDonalds are closing down throughout France, Italy, Spain, Holland, and Germany as people understand the harm this corporation does to health, human dignity & the environment. I hope it happens here, but probably not since it’s the United States of Amnesia.
Guys, it’s counter-productive to work out at the gym and then gobble down a Big Mac. Do everyone a favour — boycott these jerks. Your health will improve, you won’t be subjected by homophobic remarks by their “employees.” A win-win scenario.
We boycotted Coors right? why dont we boycott McDonalds? Im sure it will get them to understand that gays are not one or two dudes in bar… but rather 10 – 15% of the american population!
Never personally eat at McDonalds or allow anyone in my entire family to eat at McDonalds ever! CHECK!
Never set foot in Kentucky! CHECK!
There certainly are hundreds, if not thousands, of other places I can patronize for dining and vacationing purposes that have no problems with LGBT people and I will gladly spend my hard earned gay dollars at those locales!
“Diversity training”??? I can just see these idiot employees laughing all the way thru it. People that brazenly bigoted don’t even know the meaning of diversity. The true test of McDonald’s sincerity would be whether all of these employees were fired….but, then, this IS Kentucky! The conduct of these employees of a public business is so incredible, I cannot imagine any such business really interested in not allowing any evidence of bigotry to continue to employ such disreputable people.
The golden rule is to replace black for gay (with all slurs attached) and then judge. They should use that for their ‘diversity training’
Oh, why am I not surprised to read this. And, unfortunately, it begs the question as to what the race of the McDonalds employees were who decided “they” were oh, so much better than the customers ordering lunch. Funny how it’s so often a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
It is time to assist McD’s, if you want to eat their butt rot, by going in arm in arm. Maybe a little kissing also.
REALLY get their attention.
In all fairness, the mcdonalds is very likely a franchise or privately owned. And atty worth the paper his law degree is written on would have also sued mcdonalds.
Don’t forget Mcdonalds stood up to the AFA and are being boycotted because they have a gay executive that donated company funds to gay friendly organizations.
Gay people should transfer $ from the state of Calif. to the six states that accepts us. Hit them in there pockets transfer your funds from their states revenue!