Obscanity: You'll know it when you see it

The Raw Story | McDonald’s: No workers comp for employee shot protecting patron.

I could alllllmost understand their argument (but not really) if this had been an actual robbery and the kid just decided to be a hero (but even then I’d be raising my eyebrows). But this was NOT a robbery. It was not an attempted robbery. It was not even an attempted mugging of a customer in a McDonald’s store. From all I can see from the accounts, it was a case of an employee ejecting a troublesome patron for the safety of others. I can see how McDonald’s is greedy and selfish and evil enough to deny this claim, but I cannot see how they are STUPID enough to do it. Hello, bad PR, coming right up!

Just shot off this letter to McDonald’s corporate:

I am absolutely appalled by the news that McDonald’s has denied worker’s compensation benefits to a young man who was shot during the course of his employment with you.

I understand that McDonald’s takes the position that in a robbery situation he should have called 9-11 rather than being a hero. I doubt that is a legitimate position, but even if you had a legal leg to stand on with that argument, it does not apply in this case, because this WAS NOT A ROBBERY.

Your employee had no reason to expect that the patron he ejected from your store would have a gun or would use it against him, and therefore even if your argument was viable in a real robbery situation (which I doubt it would be), it certainly cannot apply here.

This young man did a commendable thing by ejecting a troublesome customer, and you are punishing him for that. But guess what? By punishing him for being a good employee and a good person, you only punish yourself. This news will spread like wildfire, and your selfishness will be exposed to good and decent people across the nation.

As for me, in addition to being appalled by your treatment of this employee, I also cannot feel safe in a McDonald’s restaurant if I know that the employees are prohibited from protecting their customers in the case of loud, unruly or violent patrons because they will not be protected if the patrons turn on them.

Therefore, I will no longer be visiting McDonald’s restaurants.

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