The Oregonian | By Aimee Green | February 13, 2019
A McDonald’s worker who says she has repeatedly complained to management to no avail about a female co-worker who has kicked, hit and ridiculed her over the past year filed a $10,000 lawsuit against her employer Wednesday.
The last straw? Amber Harrison’s attorney says it came last week, when the co-worker used a half-dozen “sausage” stickers to form the shape of a penis and stuck the graphic depiction to Harrison’s back.
The lawsuit says after Harrison discovered the “McPenis” imagery stuck to her, the co-worker followed her “around the workplace and teased her with the image.” The 21-year-old called her grandmother from the Salem restaurant “crying uncontrollably,” according to the suit.
Jill Pollard, McDonald’s owner operator, declined to comment on the pending litigation. But Pollard said: “The safety of our crew and guests are a top priority.”
This photo shows the stickers that were affixed to Amber Harrison’s back while on the job at a Salem McDonald’s, according to her lawsuit.
Harrison works at the McDonald’s at 4020 Commercial St. Southeast and has been an employee for two years, the suit says. She makes a little more than minimum wage and hasn’t quit because she needs the income, said Portland attorney Michael Fuller.
Harrison has repeatedly told her alleged harasser to stop, but that hasn’t quelled the problem, Fuller said.
The co-worker “seems to fit the profile of a schoolyard bully,” Fuller said.
McDonald’s “management has sat idly by,” the suit alleges, and has said “her co-worker is too valuable to the company to fire.” The suit claims McDonald’s is negligent in failing to take action.
The suit doesn’t name the alleged harasser or list her as a defendant.
The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, noting McDonald’s does business there. Read the suit here.
