Sexual Assault Lawsuit Filed Against McDonald’s In Maple Grove

MAPLE GROVE, MN — Minnesota officials on Tuesday filed to join a lawsuit against a Maple Grove McDonald’s franchisee that alleges the company fostered “a culture of sexual harassment that led to a manager sexually assaulting a minor employee.”

The lawsuit claims Hyder Investments violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act when an employee was sexually assaulted by her manager multiple times between December 2018 and January 2019 when she was 14.

Hyder Investments has its principal executive offices in Maple Grove and operates 11 McDonald’s locations in the Twin Cities metro, according to the lawsuit.

The suit was filed Friday in Hennepin County by the former employee who was sexually assaulted. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights on Tuesday filed to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff alongside the former employee.

Andrew Otero Albertorio, 27, is serving a 10-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in November 2019 to first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a young employee he managed at the McDonald’s location on Sycamore Drive near Interstate 494.

Albertorio held power over the employee as her manager, and “he used that authority for his own sexual purposes,” Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Rachel Kraker said in court.

Maple Grove police launched an investigation in January 2019 after the 14-year-old girl’s parents reported her manager, Albertorio — who was then 24 — had sexually assaulted her multiple times, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

The girl, who started working at the Maple Grove McDonald’s in August 2018, told police that Albertorio flirted with her at work and started communicating with her through Snapchat several months after she was hired, the complaint states.

She also told police that Albertorio tried to kiss her at work, but she pushed him away and later told him she did not want to have sex because she was not 16, according to the criminal complaint.

Police said Albertorio pushed the girl into a cooler in the restaurant and sexually assaulted her in early December. Albertorio assaulted the girl at least four more times over the next month, including twice at the restaurant and once at his home in Maple Grove, police said.

Minnesota Department of Human Rights vs. Hyder Investments

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights’ lawsuit alleges employees with authority at the McDonald’s location and Hyder Investments “failed to act” on several occasions to protect the 14-year-old employee’s rights.

The lawsuit claims two McDonald’s supervisors were aware of an “inappropriate relationship” between Albertorio and the young employee but did not investigate or take any action to prevent or correct Albertorio’s behavior.

“Instead (they) allowed him to remain in his position where he supervised minors,” the lawsuit states.

The restaurant’s general manager, who is not named in the lawsuit, also failed to act after the girl’s mother called the restaurant and said she was sexually assaulted multiple times by Albertorio, the suit alleges.

After Albertorio was arrested on sexual misconduct charges, Hyder Investments fired him for bringing marijuana to work, not for sexually assaulting an employee, the lawsuit claims.

The suit also alleges the company’s sexual harassment policies were ineffective and not provided to employees.

A sexual harassment policy in a handbook kept in the restaurant’s office told employees to report incidents but did not provide them with specific names or phone numbers to call, according to the suit.

“In fact, the phone numbers listed in the complaint procedure policy were literally ‘XXX-XXX-XXXX,’” the lawsuit alleges.

Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said her department is asking to join the lawsuit against Hyder Investments because the McDonald’s franchisee “failed to create a safe workplace” for its employees.

“Workers, especially young workers, have the right to be safe at work,” Lucero said. “Employers must create a culture where its employees can work with dignity, free from sexual harassment and assault.”

Lucero said the lawsuit against Hyder Investments is “one of many” that have been filed against McDonald’s franchisees across the U.S. for sexual harassment.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September sued a franchisee that runs 22 McDonald’s locations in Nevada, Arizona and California for allowing “egregious sexual harassment” against its employees.

A Pittsburgh-based McDonald’s franchisee faces a lawsuit that alleges a minor employee was sexually assaulted by their manager, who was a registered sex offender.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights said it requested to join the lawsuit in Hennepin County because it “is seeking structural change to ensure employees at all McDonald’s locations are provided a safe work environment free from sexual assault and harassment.”