McDonald’s

Fast food giant McDonald’s has resolved its dispute over misleading burger ads by Hungry Jack’s, ending a heated four-year courtroom battle.

A class action against McDonald’s alleging workers were not given mandatory rest breaks has “gone backwards” after the fast food giant withdrew previously agreed facts, a court has heard. 

McDonald’s has raised concerns about a “skewed” sample of employees for the initial trial in a class action alleging the fast food giant denied shift managers compensation for pre- and post-shift work.

McDonald’s has hit back at a class action over alleged unpaid work done by managers before and after shifts, saying it paid more than the minimum entitlements and is entitled to set off those payments against claims for compensation. 

In a continuing fight over damages stemming from misleading burger ads, McDonald’s has opposed production of sales information to Hungry Jack’s directors and its top executive, saying the information was confidential and the companies “fierce competitors”.

Two law firms behind underpayments class actions against Kentucky Fried Chicken have dodged a contest to run the litigation, agreeing to join their cases alleging the fast food giant denied tens of thousands of workers rest breaks.

Hungry Jack’s is seeking five years of Big Mac sales data as it readies for a fight over damages stemming from its claim that its Big Jack burger has 25 per cent more beef than the McDonald’s burger.

A judge is planning to consolidate an employee class action and a union case against McDonald’s, saying the union can take a payout from any settlement, similar to how a funder receives a commission. 

After losing its argument that class actions are excluded under the Fair Work Act, the union representing fast food workers has filed a class action of its own, alleging McDonald’s denied shift managers compensation for pre- and post-shift work.

The Full Federal Court’s finding that the High Court did not extinguish the power of judges to make common fund orders on approval of class action settlements is the latest milestone in the evolution of Australian class action jurisprudence, experts say.