Regardless of whether it was real, the fact that people believed it speaks strongly to the reputation of not just the restaurant industry as a whole but McDonald’s in particular. Like many of its contemporaries, McDonald’s has been accused of wage theft, settling a class action lawsuit for $26 million in California in 2019. Meanwhile, McDonald’s franchisees are constantly in trouble over teen work laws, with the U.S. Department of Labor finding locations in Kentucky, California, and Pennsylvania guilty of child labor violations in 2022 and 2023 alone (the Kentucky example found children as young as 10 working illegally). Incidents like these certainly paint a picture of a company that doesn’t have the best track record regarding workplace practices, which helps explain why a “no quit” sign feels believable.
Incredibly, this isn’t the only incident of a McDonald’s franchise appearing to attempt to stop someone from quitting — and in the other case, there was video evidence. In a since-deleted TikTok from 2023, a user posted a video in which she told another employee (whether this was a manager is unclear) that she was putting in her two weeks’ notice. The other employee replied, “You can’t quit.” While there’s no way to tell whether the context involved a manager begging her not to quit rather than actively stopping her (as of a TikTok posted on April 7, 2024, the user appeared to still be employed at McDonald’s), incidents like that only add fuel to the fire.
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
