The burger company said Wednesday that it is implementing training beginning in October for its roughly 850,000 employees from line cooks to managers at nearly 14,000 U.S. restaurants.
More companies are conducting antiharassment and antibias training after the #MeToo movement highlighted discrimination issues toward women and others in the workplace. Starbucks Corp. last year closed all 8,000 of its company-owned U.S. stores for a day to conduct sensitivity training in the wake of the arrests of two black men in one of its stores in Philadelphia. The men hadn't bought anything and were sitting down. An employee called the police after they declined a request to leave.
McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food company by sales, has become a target for unions seeking to organize its workers and calling for a minimum wage of $15. Some workers have also called attention to cases of alleged sexual harassment at McDonald's restaurants and held protests that briefly closed some stores earlier this year. Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress have supported protesters.
McDonald's executives instituted training for managers last fall and established a hotline for employees to flag incidents and concerns. The new training will help front-line workers become aware of some of those resources and tougher discrimination policies, the company said.
"We have a responsibility to take action on this issue," McDonald's USA President Chris Kempczinski said.
Some franchisees said they hope the training will improve morale as McDonald's and other fast-food companies struggle to recruit and retain workers in a tight job market.
The National Franchisee Leadership Alliance, an elected body representing the more than 2,000 McDonald's franchisees in the U.S., said it supports the effort and helped push for it. Around 95% of the company's U.S. restaurants are run by independent operators, making such systemwide initiatives a challenge.
McDonald's said the training will help employees prevent workplace violence, address harassment and diffuse confrontations with customers. It will also address bias and bullying, McDonald's said.
Executives wouldn't estimate how much the training would cost, but said it would be a significant investment. They said they don't anticipate closing stores and said employees would be compensated for their time.