NEW YORK, NY — An administrative judge on the National Labor Relations Board has dealt a blow to McDonald’s in a labor dispute that started when some workers said they were fired over their involvement in calling for union rights and $15 wages in the fast food industry. On Tuesday, Administrative Law Judge Lauren Esposito rejected a proposed settlement that was struck between McDonald’s and Peter Robb, President Donald Trump’s general counsel for the NLRB.

The judge found the settlement wasn’t “a reasonable resolution based on the nature and scope of the violations alleged and the settlements’ limited remedial impact.” Under the deal, McDonald’s would’ve been able to avoid a ruling that it’s a “joint employer” of franchise workers and could be liable when those franchisees break federal labor laws. McDonald’s also wouldn’t have to negotiate with unions.

The fast food giant, based in Chicago, was willing to pay between $20 and $50,000 to workers who said they were wrongly fired for protesting and calling for higher wages. McDonald’s said in a statement it was disappointed with the decision and was weighing an appeal to the NLRB. McDonald’s said the proposed settlement is “fair, reasonable, and provides the opportunity now for full and complete relief to all current and former franchisee employees affected by the litigation.”

But Micah Wissinger, a lawyer for the Service Employees International Union and affiliated groups who helped represent the workers, blasted the deal in an interview with The New York Times.

“The way this is all structured, all the liability is on the franchisees, there is no obligation on McDonald’s part,” he said. “Part of why she has rejected it is that they have no real obligations to do anything.”

Mary Joyce Carlson, a lawyer for the worker advocacy group Fight for $15, which organized nationwide protests and asked the judge to reject the deal, called the settlement a “sham” in a statement Tuesday. She said it gave McDonald’s a “get-out-of-jail-free card for illegally harassing, surveilling and firing minimum-wage workers.”

The trial began in 2015 under the Obama administration. Back then, the government alleged McDonald’s was liable for numerous labor violations by its franchisees. In January, Esposito agreed to pause the case so Robb could try to negotiate a settlement.

According to The Times, McDonald’s and Robb have a few options: abandon the settlement approach and resume the trial, try reach a new settlement or — the most likely option— appeal to the NLRB, where Republicans have a majority.

Photo credit: David Allen/Patch

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