McDonald’s sues fired CEO for ‘lying and concealing evidence in relation to sexual relationships with THREE employees and giving one a batch of shares’ as it tries to recoup his $40 MILLION severance package
McDonald’s has filed a lawsuit against its CEO who was fired last year for an inappropriate relationship with an employee after claiming he covered up relationships with other workers and destroyed evidence.
Stephen Easterbrook was ousted from McDonald’s in November last year after he admitted to exchanging videos and text messages with an employee.
Easterbrook, who told the fast food company that there were no other similar instances, was allowed to keep about $40 million in stock-based benefits and 26 weeks of pay, which amounted to about $670,000 in compensation, as part of his ‘without cause’ separation agreement.
In a lawsuit filed in Delaware on Monday, McDonald’s now says it has since been made aware of sexual relationships between Easterbrook and three other employees prior to his termination.
Stephen Easterbrook was ousted from McDonald’s in November last year after he admitted to exchanging videos and text messages with an employee
The company has accused Easterbrook of removing evidence of those relationships from his cell phone in a bid to prevent investigators from learning about them prior to his firing.
McDonald’s said in the lawsuit that Easterbrook’s board-approved separation agreement was based on what the company knew at the time.
The lawsuit says McDonald’s would not have terminated Easterbrook without cause if it had known of the additional relationships.
The company is now attempting to block Easterbrook from exercising his stock options and is seeking compensatory damages.