McDonald's franchise settles dispute of letting staff use dog diaper as COVID-19 mask

A McDonald's franchise in Oakland, California has settled a dispute with workers who accused bosses of letting them use dog diapers as COVID-19 masks.

The bosses also let the staff use masks made out of coffee filters.

The McDonald's Corporation was not listed as a defendant in the complaint filed with the Superior Court of the State of California.

BJ Chisholm, a lawyer representing the workers, shared the settlement document that indicated the restaurant agreed to social-distancing measures, contact tracing, and paid sick leave.

Lawyers from both sides declined to reveal whether the workers would receive their demand for financial compensation.

Michael Smith, the franchise's owner and one of the defendants in the case, denied all of the accusations and said the settlement did not mean an admission of any wrongdoing.

In the original complaint filed on June 2020, the plaintiffs alleged that in May and June 2020, at least 11 workers caught COVID-19 while working at the store. Consequently, some workers passed on the virus to their families.

Angely Rodriguez Lambert, one of the suit's plaintiffs, said they were being treated like dogs and giving them dog diapers to use as masks.

While the bosses eventually provided proper masks once employees complained, they required that they be used for multiple days and to "wash and reuse them until they fell apart."

In June 2020, a California judge granted a temporary court order requiring franchise owners to improve their COVID-19 safety measures, which included providing "adequate and sufficient masks" and deep cleaning the store.