Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Monday, October 29, 2001
The jury in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court deliberated less than three hours Friday after a nine-day trial before ruling in favor of Russell Rich. He sued McDonald's Corp., claiming discrimination on the basis of his illness after he was forced to resign his job in October 1997.
ôThis case is about prejudice. Prejudice in the workplace is unacceptable as a condition of employment,ö said Paige A. Martin, the Columbus attorney who represented Mr. Rich.
Lisa Howard, a spokeswoman for McDonald's, said Sunday the company is considering appealing the decision.
ôWe respectfully disagree with the jury's decision, and we are currently considering a number of options available,ö she said.
Mr. Rich, 37, of the Akron suburb Fairlawn, worked for 20 years at McDonald's franchise restaurants. The company hired him in July 1997 to manage a corporate-owned store.
Two weeks later, Mr. Rich was hospitalized for an AIDS-related illness. McDonald's said he could continue to work only if the company could review his medical records. He agreed.
After that, Mr. Rich said, his supervisors refused to let him do his management duties, improperly disciplined him for job abandonment and scheduled him to work unreasonably long hours.
He said that when he tried to complain about the hostile work environment to a McDonald's operations manager, he was told to take a two-week, unpaid leave of absence because the manager did not have time to listen to his complaints.
Mr. Rich became ill, but when he told McDonald's he wanted to return to work, he was told he was being transferred to another restaurant where he would co-manage the store at a manager's salary but his duties would be limited ôfor the rest of his careerö to selling hamburgers at the front counter, Ms. Martin said.
He filed his discrimination case in October 1998.
ôHe's suffered greatly over the years,ö Ms. Martin said.
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