McDonald’s Offers $170,000 to Settle Franchise Labor Beef

McDonald’s USA LLC franchisees want to pay a group of franchise restaurant workers as much as $50,000 each to avoid having a judge decide whether the fast-food company is their “joint employer,” lawyers said April 5.

Attorneys for McDonald’s, a group of franchisee businesses, and the National Labor Relations Board asked an administrative law judge to approve a settlement that would compensate workers at McDonald’s locations owned and operated by franchisees across the country. The agreement would resolve an NLRB lawsuit alleging that the workers were retaliated against for participating in rallies organized by Fight for $15, a union-backed group ...