McDonald’s filed suit against its ousted leader Steve Easterbrook, alleging his termination last fall over a relationship with an employee shouldn’t have included severance pay because he “concealed evidence and lied about his wrongdoing.”
Easterbrook was fired as CEO in November “without cause” and had originally admitted to having a consensual relationship with an employee. But information McDonald’s received from an anonymous tip in July led the company to further investigate. It concluded he had been involved in sexual relationships with three additional company employees before his exit, according to a company filing Monday.
The evidence also shows Easterbrook approved a special discretionary grant of restricted stock units worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of the employees after their first sexual encounter and just days before their second, the company said.
The world’s largest restaurant company filed a complaint in the Delaware Chancery Court to recover any compensation and severance benefits that he received when he left his post. The company has also taken steps to prevent Easterbrook from exercising any stock options or selling any shares.