A Bentonville McDonald’s franchisee has settled a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed he was fired because he has HIV.
Mathews Management and the affiliated company Peach Orchard Inc. agreed to pay the unidentified man $103,000, clarify its policies about employees’ health and make other changes, according to a consent decree filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday. The companies specifically deny any wrongdoing and maintain they’re fair to employees, the decree states.
The lawsuit filed in July accused the companies of firing the man after learning his HIV status and requiring employees to divulge prescription medications. Both would violate the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which first filed the lawsuit on the former employee’s behalf.
Mathews Management oversees about three dozen McDonald's locations in and around Benton and Washington counties. It and Peach Orchard are both led by Bill and Walter Mathews, according to Arkansas Secretary of State records.
The former employee worked at a register and the drive-through, cleaned and helped open and close the restaurant for several months starting in late 2014.
The companies agreed to revise the medication-reporting policy to remove any “ambiguities,” according to the decree. They also agreed to provide disabilities act education and training to all employees and to provide a neutral job reference for the former employee showing only dates of employment and his job title.