A Delaware judge has found David Fairhurst, McDonald's former Global Chief People Officer, liable for allegedly failing to prevent pervasive sexual harassment at the fast food chain. This failure reportedly caused a significant loss in market value after chief executive Steve Easterbrook was dismissed in 2019 over a relationship with a subordinate.
According to the judge, vice-chancellor Travis Laster, as Chief People Officer Fairhurst "had an obligation to make a good-faith effort" to gather information about the misconduct and to alert the board. Laster added that Fairhurst "could not consciously ignore red flags indicating that the corporation was going to suffer harm."
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