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Mcdonald’s employee sues for obesity

Submitted by Susan Tomlinson on November 2, 2010 – 11:07 am One Comment

McDonald's-golden-arches.-Thanks-to-The-consumerist-on-Flickr.


Mcdonald’s: the one company in the world known to be nigh on impossible to sue.

But not for one Brazilian ex-employee. The un-named man won $17,500 in a law suit where he claimed, as a former restaurant manager, one of his duties was to sample the food for “quality control.”

Over a 12 year period, he gained a whopping 65 pounds in weight and claims, as a result, his health has suffered.

Treehugger writes…

According to Folha de Sao Paulo, when the unnamed former McDonald’s manager began working for the company at age 18, he weighed in at a healthy 154 pounds. Twelve years later, after being forced to eat samples of food every day to ensure quality standards, he tips the scales at around 230 pounds.

While the plaintiff was employed at McDonald’s, one of his regular duties required him to eat “too much salt, sugar, and fat,” which caused him to develop “high cholesterol, obesity, and muscle weakness.” Moreover, employees on duty were not provided with healthier meal options, lest they acknowledge that regularly consuming the food they sell indeed makes people fat.

In siding with the complainant’s case, the judges ordered the fast-food giant to pay the former employee $17,500 in damages, and help cover the medical expenses required for the “full restoration of the health of the claimant.”


McDonald’s has the option to appeal.

Photo credit: Thanks to The Consumerist on Flickr.


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