Workers at McDonald’s in 19 cities have filed safety complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The complaints involve allegations of severe burns on the job caused by hot oil, hot grills and greasy, slippery floors.
McDonald’s said it would review the allegations and noted that its franchisees “are committed to providing safe working conditions for employees in the 14,000 McDonald’s brand U.S. restaurants.”
The complaints allege that their McDonald’s locations lack basic first aid supplies or personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, aprons, goggles and heat-resistant sleeves. According to the employees, managers would tell them to treat their burns with mayonnaise or mustard.
“My managers kept pushing me to work faster, and while trying to meet their demands I slipped on a wet floor, catching my arm on a hot grill,” said Brittney Berry, who has worked at a McDonald’s in Chicago since 2011, and who suffered a severe burn on her forearm and nerve damage from the accident. “The managers told me to put mustard on it, but I ended up having to get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.”
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