McDonald’s Corp on Monday sued former CEO Steve Easterbrook for allegedly lying about inappropriate sexual relationships with employees, the latest twist in a corporate #MeToo saga that has rocked the fast food giant.
Easterbrook was dismissed in November last year over his “poor judgment” in engaging in a consensual relationship with a member of staff in breach of company policy.
McDonald’s said that it had subsequently learned that Easterbrook lied and “destroyed information regarding inappropriate personal behavior” and relationships with three other employees.
It added that the 53-year-old Briton had provided stock worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of those employees.
The chain is seeking to recover compensation and severance benefits paid to the executive under the terms of his departure last year, a securities filing said.
The lawsuit, which said that Easterbrook allegedly committed fraud by misleading the company over the separation agreement, has been filed in a state court in Delaware.
“[He] was knowingly untruthful with McDonald’s investigators,” the complaint said.
Last month, McDonald’s received an anonymous tip-off that Easterbrook had engaged in a sexual relationship with someone who worked for him while he was CEO.
An internal investigation found evidence of that relationship, and of two others, McDonald’s said.
“That evidence consisted of dozens of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit photographs and videos of various women, including photographs of these company employees,” the filing said.
Easterbrook had sent the photographs, which were allegedly taken in late 2018 and early last year, as attachments to messages from his company e-mail account to his personal e-mail account, it said.
In 2018, his base pay was US$1.3 million and his total compensation including bonus and stock options was US$15.9 million.
Easterbrook’s separation agreement included six months’ severance pay, plus stock options.
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