If McDonald's is taking money out of people's paychecks and replacing it with McPoints or whatever they call them, then yes.
Companies can give prizes or awards on top of paying their usual wages with actual money, but as soon as they start paying people less because they're compensating them with fake money it's a problem.
In theory yes, but in practice, I feel that the transferred value could be ambiguous and obfuscated, even intangible. I would be surprised if McDonald's doesn't have a world class general counsel and legal team that can get very creative. I readily acknowledge this is a cynically conspiratorial take with no evidential basis.
These companies can afford to pay their workers a living wage. It's not a question of whether workers "deserve" one hourly rate or another. The question is whether the working class will continue to tolerate it.
Does that standard of fairness go both ways? If a business is losing money should the employees then be required to work for free?
Most McDonald's restaurant workers worldwide are employees of local franchise companies which are far less profitable. The main McDonald's corporation is just a supplier for them.
This sounds like straight up employee misclassification and wage theft that should be taken up with state regulators. Surely a fast food place like McDonalds can't just put a tip jar on the counter, play coy that their workers are tipped positions, and underpay their employees. So it's a matter of enforcement on the smaller outfits that are able to fly under the radar.
I don't want to completely wash my hands of it because it's certainly possible the state regulators could be corrupt and just ignoring the problem, but just giving in to the corruption doesn't seem right either.
Sure they can, the amount of money generated from these actions you honestly believe McDonald's doesn't have the best contract lawyers to enforce their TOS.
McDonalds is a poor example here. McD is primarily a franchise model, selling supplies and demand for what the brand sells. Higher wages would primarily impact the franchisee. The only way McD (the corporation) can increase wages is to mandate that franchises pay above minimum wage.
I believe Starbucks is a better example as they don’t use the franchise model.
If the incentive to work at McDonald’s decreases to a point where they either need to raise the wages or automate large parts of their process, won't that lead to a possibility where McDonald’s ceases to exist or becomes a luxury item?
It's not very unlikely that they won't be able to automate their business and the only option is to raise the wages. With raised wages they will need to increase their prices.
Is McDonalds really suing min wage workers who leave for Wendy's to get a better schedule or 25 cents more per hour? I get that they could but I can't see how that's ever a reasonable business decision.
In the case of cities like NY, London, Amsterdam, San Francisco and the like yes, but not necessary overnight, maybe take a year or so. My point is not that if Mcdonalds only where to raise its wages, but all Mcdonalds like companies. Also,it is not the case either that McDonald is a monopolist in fast food. If it were I could understand that they could have room to maneuver and pay lower salaries. But is not the case for them and neither for the overwhelming share of companies.
Business does whatever it can get away with. The workers qualify for all kinds of government benefits because they don't make enough to live on. McDonald's Profits $8.5 Billion per year. Should taxpayers but subsidizing McDonald's?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/30/fast-food-w...
The currency crash doesn't need to impact them. They can just raise prices. If your theory were correct, McDonald's wouldn't still be paying their employees, but they are. It's very clearly a moral, or at least reputational, choice.
Similarly, Mcdonalds is fighting a case that it doesnt control or influence how franchises pay the workers. Its the whole minimum wage issue being fought out by workers vs Mcds.
Companies can give prizes or awards on top of paying their usual wages with actual money, but as soon as they start paying people less because they're compensating them with fake money it's a problem.
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