Herb Washington, an ex-MLB athlete, was previously thought to be McDonald’s largest Black franchisee in the nation. In 2017, he owned 27 of the dining locations. When he sued the corporation in February 2021, he only owned 14.
In his lawsuit, Washington alleged that McDonald’s “pigeonholed him into operating restaurants in low-volume Black neighborhoods. They also “forced him to sell his locations to White operators after he complained.”
In 2017, Washington was told by the company that he didn’t qualify to open more stores. This was something that he had planned to do in order to pay for store renovations that was mandatory by the franchisor. Washington didn’t understand why this was the case since nothing was different about how he ran his business.
As a result, McDonald’s has settled with Washington for $33.5 million. They will also now operate 13 of his stores. The corporation has made it known that the settlement is about equal to the value of the stores that they will be taking over.
