McDonald's Hot Coffee & Burn Injury Wage Theft Class Action

This class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of McDonald's hourly employees across corporate-owned locations, alleges that the fast-food giant engaged in a widespread pattern of wage theft affecting tens of thousands of workers. Specific allegations include time-shaving — the manipulation of electronic timekeeping systems to reduce recorded hours — requiring employees to perform pre- and post-shift tasks off the clock, and denying proper overtime premiums to workers who clocked more than 40 hours per week. Plaintiffs argued that these practices were not isolated incidents but reflected systemic corporate policies designed to suppress labor costs.

The lawsuit invokes the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as the wage-and-hour laws of multiple states. It is one of several major labor actions targeting fast-food corporations in the post-COVID era, as worker advocacy groups have intensified scrutiny of pay practices in low-wage industries. The litigation highlights the precarious working conditions faced by millions of fast-food employees, many of whom are people of color and single parents who rely on every hour of pay. McDonald's has denied the allegations, but the case has spurred additional wage theft investigations by state attorneys general.