Day 124 - 10 May 95 - Page 19


     
     1        A.  I do not recall that.  I would not have knowledge of
     2        that.  I do not know if that is correct.  So the fact that
     3        that is in the book does not, to me, indicate that that is
     4        how things developed.  I do not know what the genesis was
     5        for McDonald's.
     6
     7   Q.   You do not remember this specific ---
     8        A.  Eliminating the use of detectors.
     9
    10   Q.  -- ruling?
    11        A.  No, I do not.
    12
    13   Q.   If I read it out it might jog your memory:
    14
    15        "The Commissioner ruled that consent forms 'are obtained
    16        under real or fancied duress and coercion in that the
    17        employee believed their hours of work would be reduced or
    18        that their employment would be terminated if they refused
    19        to "voluntarily" consent ...'"  You do not remember that
    20        specific -----
    21        A.  I have no knowledge of that.  Again, you know, we have
    22        independent franchisees around the country, as I have
    23        indicated earlier, some of them used it, but I would say
    24        that probably the majority of restaurants did not use it,
    25        so I could not give you -----
    26
    27   Q.   Are you aware that, as part of this official enquiry, it
    28        was an issue at this time whether McDonald's were legally
    29        obliged to record tips that were given to staff, and that
    30        the Company was accused of keeping tips and not letting the
    31        staff retain them, and not recording that fact, which it
    32        was obliged to do?  Do you remember that?
    33        A.  I have no knowledge of that. I can only tell you from
    34        my experience what our policy was regarding tips.  I do not
    35        know if -----
    36
    37   Q.   We have heard evidence that the Company is strongly opposed
    38        to staff keeping tips.
    39        A.  It was our policy, and still is our policy, not to
    40        receive tips.
    41
    42   Q.   But when tips were received ---
    43        A.  Well ----
    44
    45   Q.  --  what was the policy?
    46        A.  The policy was that we asked our employees not to
    47        receive tips from customers, and this goes back to the
    48        early days of McDonald's and going back to the 60s.  This
    49        is before McDonald's was a household name.  Most fast, what
    50        you would call, fast service, car-hop, type restaurants it 
    51        was customary, at the time, to receive tips, particularly 
    52        if it was table service or if they brought the meal out to 
    53        your car.  In McDonald's, service obviously was a little
    54        different.  We wanted to present value to the customer, and
    55        we felt it was unnecessary to receive tips.  So that was
    56        our policy.  That was our stated policy upfront to our
    57        employees.
    58
    59   Q.   So if the employees receive tips they had to do what?  They
    60        had to put it in the till and not keep it themselves?

Prev Next Index