Black former McDonald’s executives’ race discrimination suit heads to trial this fall

A September trial will put McDonald’s internal promotion culture under a public microscope, giving a jury a chance to hear from two Black former executives who say the company let racial hostility shape their careers in Chicago. Vicki Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal filed the case on Jan. 7, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and after more than six years in federal court they are now set to present hostile work environment and retaliation claims against McDonald’s USA, LLC.

The case narrowed sharply last month when Judge Mary M. Rowland granted summary judgment for McDonald’s Corporation and Chris Kempczinski, removing both as individual defendants. Rowland also threw out the disparate treatment and non-promotion claims, but allowed the hostile work environment and retaliation claims to continue. McDonald’s said the ruling was a major win, arguing the remaining claims against McDonald’s USA have no factual or legal basis. The plaintiffs’ side has said getting a hostile work environment claim against a company as large as McDonald’s to trial is a high hurdle in itself.

The surviving claims center on allegations that a regional president criticized a “Black woman attitude” and referred to one or more plaintiffs and other Black employees as “angry Black women.” Those allegations were enough for the hostile work environment claims to move forward, according to reporting on the ruling. The promotion claims, by contrast, did not survive because the court found the plaintiffs had not shown they were the best candidates for the roles they sought. That split leaves the jury to weigh whether the company’s workplace conduct crossed the line even as the promotion dispute fell away.

Guster-Hines brings a long corporate history into the trial. Court documents and related reporting say she spent 32 years at McDonald’s, was promoted about 15 times, and reached quality, service, and cleanliness vice president in 2013. McDonald’s said she was promoted 15 times and retired in October 2021, adding that the door remained open for her return if she had chosen to come back. McDonald’s also said Neal was terminated after 17 employees, including several diverse employees, reported that she created a toxic work environment. Those competing accounts are likely to frame the trial around whether the company disciplined conduct or retaliated against two Black women who complained about race.

The case lands as McDonald’s has been pulling back some diversity, equity and inclusion goals, citing a “shifting legal landscape.” It also comes after the company settled a $10 billion lawsuit brought by Byron Allen over ad spending allegations and reached a separate settlement with a Black former security executive who said he was pushed out after criticizing Kempczinski. With the trial set for September, the dispute is no longer just about two former executives. It has become a test of how McDonald’s treats Black leaders at the highest levels of the company.