McDonald’s Asks Court To Reject ‘Burdensome’ Subpoena

An NLRB subpoena asking McDonald’s for emails and other documents from more than 50 company executives and employees who work directly with franchise owners, is “one of the most burdensome in the history of the agency,” the fast food giant’s lawyers claimed. McDonald’s is asking a court to reject the subpoena, saying it has spent more than $1 million over the last few months to produce more than 160,000 pages of documents, even though the company would owe no more than about $50,000 if found liable. At issue is whether McDonald’s may be liable for alleged labor violations at 29 franchises in five states, a suit that could impact the basis of the franchise model in the U.S.