Day 145 - 29 Jun 95 - Page 40
1 A. You hit it right on the nail.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: But you have the right under the at will contract
4 to just say to an employee at any time at McDonald's:
5 "Next week, sorry, we do not need you"?
6 A. With the at will contract, if there is justifiable
7 economic reasons, you can do that. If that is being used
8 as a subterfuge and is not a legitimate reason, the
9 employer would have a problem, a big problem, because he
10 would have to show just cause.
11
12 Q. You said something about juries not being sympathetic to
13 employers?
14 A. Yes.
15
16 Q. How did that relate to the bringing in of the at will
17 clause? Did that mean that, effectively -----
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Did it relate to that?
20 A. It related to the legal issues, my Lord, that would be
21 decided by judges. The "at will" doctrine is something
22 that a judge would decide because it is a matter of law,
23 and then he would give instructions, as a matter of law, to
24 the jury on how to interpret the law.
25
26 Q. What you are really saying is the legal situation, having
27 been explained to the jury, they took a lot of persuading
28 by an employer that there was just cause, for instance?
29 A. That is correct, my Lord.
30
31 MS. STEEL: What deposits and charges are paid to crew members
32 for uniforms?
33 A. Excuse me?
34
35 Q. What deposits and charges are made to crew members for
36 uniform?
37 A. There are none.
38
39 Q. There are none?
40 A. None. If I may for a second? If you are getting at a
41 uniform receipt where someone says that they will return
42 the uniform or else they could be charged upon leaving
43 their employment, that is the only thing that would come
44 close to what you are saying.
45
46 Q. Perhaps it is easiest if I ask you to explain something.
47 If you could get the Operations and Training Manual?
48 A. Where would that be?
49
50 Q. Pink volume X, please.
51 A. Where would you like me to turn to?
52
53 Q. Page 113, please. The fourth paragraph down it starts:
54 "McDonald's must provide all uniforms at no charge to the
55 employees". Then in the middle of it it says: "Any
56 deposits or charges must not lower the employee's hourly
57 wage below the minimum hourly rate". Is that related to, I
58 do not know, damage to uniforms or something like that?
59 A. No. What this is, it is dealing with a specific legal
60 requirement in the US under the federal law, and that is if
