McDonald’s is Allowed to Continue its Lawsuit Against Former CEO Steve Easterbrook
A Delaware judge decided against dismissing a McDonald’s lawsuit aimed at recovering millions in severance from former CEO Steve Easterbrook, who’s been accused of hiding multiple affairs while at the company.
The back-and-forth began in August when the fast-food chain said it found evidence that Easterbrook covered up sexual relationships with three employees and approved a stock grant worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for one of those workers. The company accused Easterbrook of deleting photos and messages from his phone, but not removing them from the company servers.
The revelation came after Easterbrook was fired in November 2019 for having a consensual relationship with an employee. At the time of McDonald’s August lawsuit, Easterbrook’s package was estimated to be worth $57.3 million, according to executive-pay firm Equilar. McDonald’s said it would have never agreed to the separation agreement if it had known about Easterbrook’s alleged affairs.
