The black owner of 14 McDonald’s franchises in Ohio says one of the world’s largest restaurant chains has shown more favorable treatment to white owners and has denied him the opportunity to buy restaurants in wealthier communities, according to a civil rights case. open this week.
The lawsuit filed by Herbert Washington, a former college athletics star who played parts for two seasons with Oakland Athletics in the mid-1970s, said the discriminatory practices of the Chicago-based company led to a sales gap for $ 700,000 between franchises owned by blacks and those owned by whites.
The number of black franchise owners has dropped from 377 in 1998 to 186 today, while the total number of stores has more than doubled to 40,000, the suit said.
“By relegating black owners to older stores in the toughest neighborhoods, McDonald’s ensured that black franchisees would never reach the levels of success that white franchisees could expect,” the suit said. “Black franchisees must spend more to operate their stores, while white franchisees are able to enjoy all the benefits of their work,” the process said.
McDonald’s issued a statement on Tuesday denying Washington’s claims. The company said Washington is “facing business challenges” for which the company “has significantly invested in its organization”, while offering “multiple opportunities over several years to resolve these problems”.
“This situation is the result of years of mismanagement by Mr. Washington, whose organization has failed to meet many of our standards for people, operations, guest satisfaction and reinvestment,” the statement said.
More than 50 former Black McDonald’s franchise owners made similar allegations in a lawsuit filed against the company in September.