McDonald's obtains summary judgment in single plaintiff action

Client(s) McDonald's Corporation

Jones Day represented McDonald's USA, LLC in connection with a single plaintiff suit filed by a former employee in California state court.  The complaint included two causes of action.  First, it asserted a claim for waiting time penalties under the California Labor Code, claiming that the plaintiff should have been provided accrued vacation and final wages immediately upon being suspended from work pending a workplace investigation, despite the fact that the plaintiff was never terminated.  The complaint also included a cause of action for defamation.  The Superior Court of California granted McDonald's motion for summary judgment, holding that the plaintiff failed to show he was entitled to be paid wages and vacation pay under the Labor Code, and also failed to present evidence of any defamatory publication.

T. Nguyen v McDonald's Restaurants of California, Inc., et al No. 1-13-cv-245744 (Sup Ct CA, 2014)