McDonald's lays out People Safety standards for employees

McDonald’s has published a corporate People Safety statement that serves as the company’s public explanation of its approach to workplace safety, inclusion, and respect across corporate and company operated restaurants. The page summarizes the People Brand Standards as the framework intended to foster workplaces free from harassment and discrimination, to prioritize both physical and psychological safety for employees, and to support franchisees through policies, training and assessment processes.

The guidance lists core strategy elements that include safety protocols, reporting channels for incidents or concerns, and assessment processes to track progress. It also points to related human rights commitments and links these safety goals to broader goal and performance reporting. Taken together the materials function as the company’s statement of expectations and as a resource for managers and employees trying to understand what protections and procedures should be in place.

For workers the document clarifies what the company says it will prioritize. Clear reporting channels can reduce uncertainty about where to take complaints, assessment processes can create measurable benchmarks for workplaces, and an explicit focus on psychological safety signals recognition that workplaces must address more than physical hazards. The page further signals that corporate sees supporting franchisees as a necessary part of improving conditions across the brand, by providing policies and training it expects franchise operators to use.

How those standards change day to day experience will depend on rollout, training quality, and follow through at individual restaurants. Linking safety work to goal and performance reporting creates a possible mechanism for accountability, but it will require consistent assessments and transparency for employees to see results. For frontline crews and managers, the corporate People Safety materials offer a clearer statement of company priorities and an outline of tools meant to prevent harassment and harm, while leaving implementation and enforcement to ongoing work between corporate and franchise operators.