NEW YORK, N.Y.—Saying it was not a “reasonable resolution,” a federal administrative law judge on July 17 rejected a proposed settlement between McDonald’s and the National Labor Relations Board.
The deal was intended to resolve NLRB charges that the company had illegally retaliated against workers organizing for a $15-an-hour wage and a union; the board also held that McDonald’s was a “joint employer” responsible for violations by its franchises. But the trial dragged on until after Donald Trump took office, and in January, the NLRB’s Trump-appointed general counsel, Peter B. Robb, was given 60 days to negotiate an out-of-court deal. Judge Lauren Esposito said his proposal was inadequate because McDonald’s had refused to guarantee that its franchises would obey terms such as giving workers back pay and posting notices telling workers that they had a right to form a union. “The way this is all structured, all the liability is on the franchisees, there is no obligation on McDonald’s part,” Service Employees International Union lawyer Micah Wissinger told the New York Times. “They have no real obligations to do anything.” McDonald’s and Robb are likely to appeal the decision to the NLRB, which now has a Republican majority.
