Leadership

McDonald’s sues Steve Easterbrook for severance, saying he hid more affairs

The company alleges its former CEO had three sexual relationships in addition to the one he acknowledged.
Photograph: Shutterstock

McDonald’s is suing former CEO Steve Easterbrook to recover what he was paid in severance and final compensation, saying he lied to the company about how many romantic relationships he’d pursued with subordinatesthe grounds for his dismissal.

Easterbrook had acknowledged at the time he was fired that he’d violated company policy by having an affair with one subordinate. McDonald’s said in a securities filing that it has recently learned of three more sexual relationships with company employees.

“Had the board been aware of this information, it would not have approved the terms of the Separation Agreement dated as of November 1, 2019,” the company said in a securities filing. It is seeking compensatory damages equal to what Easterbrook was paid under that agreement.

Easterbrook walked away with more than $700,000 in exit payments, including 26 weeks of severance pay. He also retained stock options. McDonald’s said in its filing that it would also seek to block the former CEO’s exercise of those options.

Easterbrook could not be reached for comment.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners