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Law360 (November 12, 2020, 7:16 PM EST) -- A former worker at two McDonald's locations in Chicago accused franchisee Omakin Restaurants on Thursday of yanking a job offer because he piped up about COVID-19-related safety shortcomings in a May lawsuit targeting the fast food giant.
Ryan Freeman filed a complaint in Cook County Circuit Court claiming that Omakin violated the Illinois Whistleblower Protection Act by failing to make good on a job offer after he spoke out about "deficient health and safety practices" as part of the previous lawsuit against McDonald's.
"Rather than commending Mr. Freeman for his courage in taking part in the lawsuit that resulted in an order for improved health and safety practices, Omakin Restaurants retaliated against him by failing to retain him for employment," Freeman alleged.
Freeman claimed that from the outset of the pandemic, he saw practices at the 35th Street McDonald's where he worked that jeopardized customers, workers and everyone they interacted with. Freeman lived with his mother, who has preexisting conditions and is at high risk for contracting the virus, according to the complaint.
In May, Freeman, his mother, and other current and former McDonald's employees filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging four McDonald's restaurants and McDonald's Corp. were failing to protect workers from exposure to the virus.
Freeman, who had worked at two McDonald's simultaneously, had been fired from one location for allegedly poor attendance but kept working at the 35th Street restaurant, according to the complaint. But when an employee at the 35th Street location tested positive for COVID-19, Freeman decided to stop working temporarily.
The same month, Freeman learned that Omakin Restaurants would purchase the 35th Street store later that summer. He decided to postpone his return until then, "in the hope that the new ownership and management would improve safety practices," the complaint said.
Freeman also ran into Omakin's owner and had a conversation that left him with the impression that he might get his job back at 35th Street despite his prior attendance problems, he said. Ultimately, Omakin offered Freeman a second chance, giving him a job interview and reason to believe he would return to work in the middle of June, Freeman said.
But on June 4, Freeman testified at a preliminary injunction hearing in the workplace safety suit. Cook County Judge Eve Reilly granted the plaintiffs injunctive relief June 24, requiring McDonald's to take steps such as informing employees of potential exposure and providing them with hand sanitizer.
A week after Freeman testified, Omakin called him and rescinded the job offer, claiming Freeman's earlier attendance problems were disqualifying. When Freeman objected, "Omakin cut the call short and ended the conversation almost immediately," the complaint said.
"The owner understood the reason that Mr. Freeman was late," Barry Bennett, an attorney representing Freeman, told Law360 Thursday. "He was working two jobs and it created difficulties for him."
Freeman seeks reinstatement and back pay, benefits and interest.
The alleged safety violations at the 35th Street McDonald's, however, continued after Freeman's job offer was pulled, according to complaints filed Thursday with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the city of Chicago alleging employees were "endangered every shift."
In the complaints, McDonald's employees Maria Martinez and Wendy Gonzalez painted a picture of "imminent health hazards" at the store, such as overcrowding, managers who refused to wear masks and secrecy surrounding sick co-workers.
A spokesperson for McDonald's did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
Freeman is represented by Barry Bennett and George Luscombe III of Dowd Bloch Bennett Cervone Auerbach & Yokich.
Counsel information for Omakin Restaurants was not immediately available Thursday.
The case is Freeman v. Omakin Restaurants LLC, case no. 2020-CH-06748, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
--Editing by Haylee Pearl.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
