Lawsuit alleges Bethel Park McDonald's hired sex offender who raped teen employee

A teenage girl and her parents sued McDonald’s and a Bethel Park franchise operator Tuesday, alleging that she was harassed and raped by a shift manager with whom she worked, that the defendants knew about it and did nothing to stop it.

The complaint, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, identifies the girl by her initials and said that she was raped by the man in February. It names as defendants McDonald’s corporation and Rice Enterprises, which operates several area franchises.

The lawsuit accuses McDonald’s of creating and permitting “a sexually hostile work environment for its employees from the top down.”

“Despite being on notice of pervasive problems of sexual harassment nationwide, McDonald’s fails to properly train its staff and managers and does nothing to ensure that what little training is provided actually takes place or is effective in preventing harassment,” the complaint said.

According to the lawsuit, the girl, who was 14 at the time, applied to work at McDonald’s through the corporate website in October 2020. She was hired and told to report to the Bethel Park location on Library Road two days later, on Oct. 27. Under Pennsylvania law, a teen as young as 14 can obtain a work permit.

At the first day of orientation, a 17-year-old girl led training, which consisted of watching a video on how to hand food out at the drive-thru, the complaint said.

The girl did not receive any information related to human resources issues, nor was she taught how to report sexual harassment.

For the first couple of months, the complaint said, the girl had no trouble. However, in January, the plaintiff got a new manager named Walter A. Garner.

Garner, the lawsuit said and public records confirm, is a lifetime registered sex offender in Pennsylvania, following a conviction in 2003 for aggravated indecent assault. He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl, the complaint said, and was ordered to serve 11½ to 23 months incarceration.

According to the lawsuit, Garner began sexually harassing the plaintiff almost immediately, using sexual innuendo, including telling the girl he wanted her “to be his happy meal.”

The lawsuit alleges other employees and managers heard the comments, which became more overt and frequent, including telling the girl she was pretty and commenting on her body.

He also began touching her inappropriately, the lawsuit said. The girl asked him to stop, the complaint said, but the harassment and abuse continued, causing the girl “severe emotional distress and anxiety.”

The lawsuit said that she and two others who worked there and experienced harassment spoke to the hiring manager at the store and told that person what was happening.

“McDonald’s did not investigate their complaints beyond the first telephone call with the hiring manager,” the lawsuit said. “McDonald’s did not take any steps to stop the harassment.”

The lawsuit alleged that in mid-February, when the girl went into the bathroom during a break, Garner entered after her, overpowered her, removed her uniform and raped her.

The complaint said the girl was in shock and tried to return to her shift.

After, there was an unrelated alleged theft from the cash drawer, the complaint said.

“The theft was investigated far more thoroughly than plaintiffs’ previous complaints of harassment,” the lawsuit said.

While reviewing video related to the theft, Rice and other managers saw video of Garner groping the girl, the lawsuit continued. They allegedly spoke to him about it but did not discipline or fire him.

“Garner was then emboldened and increased his harassment of plaintiff while they were working together,” the complaint said.

Subsequently, Garner showed pictures of himself and the girl to another minor employee, who told her school administration, which then contacted the police.

Bethel Park police arrested Garner and he was charged with rape and disseminating images of child pornography.

He has a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 30, according to court records.

The lawsuit said that Garner was terminated after his arrest.

The complaint includes claims for negligence. It also alleges inadequate training for managers to respond to complaints of sexual harassment; a failure to hold managers accountable, as well as a failure by the company to properly screen its job applicants or monitor its employees.

In a written statement, Michele Rice, the owner/operator of the Bethel Park McDonald’s, said: “The allegations made in the lawsuit are deeply disturbing – my organization has no tolerance for sexual harassment, and we terminated the employee in question as soon as we learned about a complaint against him. While all of our employees undergo safe and respectful workplace training upon hire, we’ve recently expanded our training to be bi-annual, in addition to adding enhanced security measures at our restaurants. We have offered our full support to the impacted employee and are fully cooperating with the police investigation into these allegations.”