McDonald’s Corp: Mitigation of Risks Related to Restrictive Public Healthcare Policies

WHEREAS: McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) has a strong incentive to invest in the health and wellbeing of both its workforce and the wider talent pool, given the high turnover rate in its industry. Our Company’s workforce is 60% female, and its approach to women’s health issues may impact its ability to successfully recruit and retain quality employees. Employees’ productivity and performance are linked to health and wellness.[1]

However, more than 20 states have enacted place significant healthcare restrictions related to reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming care.[2]

Potential identified harms to McDonald’s from state-specific healthcare access restrictions include: challenges in recruiting and retaining employees, higher employee mortality and health challenges, higher healthcare costs for employees and for the Company, a reduction in the available workforce, and increased labor costs.

Restrictions on abortion and other reproductive health-related services negatively impact the overall availability of women’s healthcare.[3] For example, in 2023, states with abortion bans saw a decline of 10.5% of medical school seniors applying for OB-GYN residency.[4] Consistent with this, a survey published in February 2023 also found that 76% of more than 2,000 current and future physicians, regardless of specialization, would not apply to work or train in states with abortion restrictions.[5]

These harms are borne most heavily by Black women, for whom maternal mortality rates are nearly 3x greater than those of non-Hispanic white women and Hispanic women. Almost 12% of McDonald’s staff are Black women.

In a survey of women under age 40 commissioned by LeanIn, more than 75%, regardless of political affiliation, said they would prefer to work for a company that supports abortion access, according to a 2022 survey commissioned by Lean In. [6]

The extent to which McDonald’s is properly monitoring, managing, and mitigating these risks has not been disclosed to investors.

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that the Board of Directors issue a public report, omitting confidential information and at reasonable expense, on the likely risks or costs to the Company and its employees caused by a broad decline in the quality of accessible employee medical care and the Company’s strategy to ameliorate these harms.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Proponent suggests this analysis consider strategies beyond litigation and legal compliance that McDonald’s may deploy to minimize or mitigate these risks.

[1] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/wellness-productivity-link-.aspx; https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/model/control-costs/benefits/productivity.html

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/health/transgender-adults-treatment-bans.html; https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html

[3] https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/18/human-rights-crisis-abortion-united-states-after-dobbs

[4] https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/analysis-pro-life-movement-abortion-maternal-health-healthbent-column/

[5] https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/analysis-pro-life-movement-abortion-maternal-health-healthbent-column/

[6]https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/08/02/employees-want-to-work-for-companies-that-support-access-to-abortion-according-to-leaninorg-study/?sh=3876e21e6a5b

Resolution Details

Company: McDonald’s Corp.

Lead Filers: As You Sow

Year: 2024

Filing Date:
December 2023

Initiative(s): Sexual and Reproductive Health