LABRADOR CITY, N.L. — When Karmyn Skinner got a part time job at McDonald's in Labrador City she thought it would be a great way to make some extra money. The 16-year-old worked there for about nine months before things took a turn.
“This person would be oddly close to me and say some pretty degrading things,” she told the Labrador Voice. “I usually just blew it off but it got uncomfortable. On March 28 he grabbed me. He was coming up behind me and saying pretty rude things to me, pretty sexual things.”
Skinner said she brought it her manager’s attention and pointed out there was a video camera in that part of the restaurant that caught the interaction.
The next time she came into work she learned he had been suspended for a week.
“A single week with no consequences and they said they were going to keep a close eye on him but they didn’t,” she said.
She wanted him fired, she said, and didn't like the idea of having to work with him again.
The staff member who she said grabbed her quit shortly after, as did Karmyn.
“I told them his punishment wasn’t enough and they didn’t do anything about it, it still happened,” she said. “They didn’t seem to understand why I would quit when he didn’t work there anymore. I explained to her the punishment wasn’t enough and they didn’t really seem to care what he did and that I didn’t feel safe working there.”
She contacted McDonald's Canada and said it’s been two months since she heard from them.
The Labrador Voice reached out to McDonald's for comment and was told it was inappropriate to comment publicly on matters involving individual employees.
McDonald's Canada sent this statement from the franchise owner:
“I am a local business owner in Labrador City, and I am committed to offering my employees a safe and respectful workplace,” wrote Patrick Rioux, franchisee. “I can assure you that any allegation of this nature is taken very seriously.”
