Oakland McDonald’s worker says client attacked her after being told to wear a mask

A McDonald’s worker in Oakland filed a complaint alleging assault and negligence by management after a violent incident with a customer who allegedly refused to wear a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The complaint by Maria Resendiz, 19, was filed with the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration on June 29, and describes an incident on June 27 at the location of the fast food chain San Pablo Avenue.

Resendiz says that after informing the male customer that he needed to wear a mask to collect his food, he lashed out and used “racially charged language,” stating, “I don’t need any Mexican b- to tell me what to do.” The man then allegedly pulled his car away from the driveway, approached Resendiz through the window on foot, and continued to verbally assault her as he banged on the window, which has a broken lock.

When Resendiz removed his hand from the window to call the police, he says the assailant opened it and asked someone to give him the worker’s full name. Resendiz says his manager wrote his full name on a piece of paper and was going to give it to the man “so he could leave,” and when Resendiz objected, he asked, “What if he kills me?” The manager was silent.

Resendiz says she went to the window, and the man grabbed her and slapped her. She says she couldn’t move back because the manager was “blocking the space behind her.”

“I threw a glass of water at him to let go of my arm, that’s where some of the bruises are, so he would go away, but that didn’t work, so I tried to pull his hand away.” Resendiz writes in the complaint. “[The manager] I was also grabbing my arms, I think she was trying to prevent me from defending myself, and since I was standing there I couldn’t get further from the attacker, and the man was able to hit me repeatedly, the attacker had the advantage while [the manager] I had my hand contained. “

Resendiz alleges that the man also grabbed her neck during the attack, and only stopped when the passenger in his car approached the window and finally convinced him to leave. After the man left, Resendiz called the police, who were presented with a surveillance video of the incident. Resendiz was rushed to a hospital, and although she had no broken bones in her hands, one arm is now in a cast.

In a statement to the media, the location’s owner, Michael Smith, said: “On Saturday, we learned of an altercation at our San Pablo Avenue restaurant.” The on-duty supervisor called the local police immediately to report the incident. restaurant to review the security images and they are still investigating this issue. “

In the complaint, Resendiz says he “has experienced more than 10 attacks” in his two years working at McDonalds, some of which include “drunk customers who throw a cup containing feces, vomit and blood” and “death-threatening customers because they were not satisfied with their orders. ” She says management has done its job in dirty clothes and has not been responsive to the needs of its workers.

“We have never received training on how to deal with these clients,” he writes. “Instead of just paying attention to whether there are enough chips, Michael needs to focus on the safety of his workers … I feel like I can’t tell Michael this because he will fire me.”

Eric Ting is a digital reporter for SFGATE. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @_ ericting