March 11--McDonald's tells its franchisees how to staff restaurants, when to clean the bathrooms and where partially completed orders should be placed on counters, an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board said Thursday.
That operational nitty-gritty, along with the business consultants, scheduling systems and hiring software provided to franchisees shows the Oak Brook-based company calls the shots and is ultimately responsible for workers' conditions, they said.
Details of McDonald's relationship with franchisees began to emerge during opening statements in a hearing to determine whether McDonald's is jointly liable for labor law violations involving employees at franchised restaurants.
The fast-food chain fiercely disputes the joint-employer designation and says it could undermine more than 60 years of franchising tradition.
Addressing Administrative Law Judge Lauren Esposito in New York, Jamie Rucker, an attorney for the general counsel of the NLRB, gave an example of a McDonald's operations consultant who warned a franchisee to bring his workers' wages down because "it could be disruptive" to neighboring McDonald's restaurants.
McDonald's "is at the center of labor relations, and labor relations are conducted by employers, not by bystanders," Rucker said.
Calling it a "trial by ambush," McDonald's attorney Willis Goldsmith said it was the first time he was hearing the facts that the NLRB 's general counsel planned to present as evidence that McDonald's is a joint employer.
The NLRB's general counsel in 2014 ruled that McDonald's could be held jointly liable with franchise operators who were accused of firing, threatening or penalizing workers who participated in nationwide strikes demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage. The agency then issued a consolidated complaint against McDonald's and about 30 franchisees in six cities, including Chicago, alleging unfair labor practices.
Until now, McDonald's business model has allowed it to distance itself from the working conditions of the people who work at its franchised locations. About 90 percent of McDonald's restaurants are run by franchisees, who the company has long maintained are independent owner-operators who set their own wages, hiring and firing policies while adhering to some standards to maintain the integrity of the brand.
