McDonald's #MeToo Moment At Hand?

(RTTNews) - Ten former and current employees of McDonald's Corp. (MCD) have filed sexual harassment complaints with the federal government against the fast food giant.

The women filed the complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC and are receiving support from Fight for $15, which is organizing the effort. The TIME's UP Legal Defense Fund is covering legal fees for the women.

Fight for $15 is working to have McDonald's designated a "joint employer" of workers at the fast food giant's franchisees and thereby be held liable if the franchisees violate labor laws.

In addition, Fight for $15 has urged McDonald's to do mandatory company-wide training on a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy as well as create a more safe and effective internal complaint system that workers can use.

The complaints by the women against McDonald's cover incidents that have occurred in locations run by franchisees across seven states, and comes just ahead of McDonald's annual meeting on Thursday.

The accusations include groping, lewd comments, indecent exposure and preposition for sex. Some of the women said they were ignored, mocked or terminated when they sought to report the incidents.

In response to the lawsuit, McDonald's said in a statement, "McDonald's Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and are confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90 percent of our 14,000 U.S. restaurants will do the same."

The complaints filed against McDonald's are similar to the sexual harassment allegations filed against the company by fifteen individuals in 2016. The workers' attorneys reportedly plan to ask the EEOC to consolidate the current complaints with any charges pending from 2016.