McDonald’s worker injured after CA man attacked her over mask rule, complaint says

A 19-year-old McDonald’s employee was working the drive-thru line at a restaurant in Oakland when a customer pulled up without a mask on, according to a complaint filed with the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

But after the employee, Maria Resendiz, told the customer he needed to wear a mask, she was assaulted by him, according to the complaint.

Oakland police confirmed that Resendiz, was “assaulted and threatened,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

On June 27, the day the alleged incident occurred, Resendiz had asked the owner of the franchise how to handle a customer not wearing a mask, according to the complaint.

Michael Smith, the owner, told her “Don’t serve them. That is all you can do,” the complaint says.

The customer said he didn’t know he needed a mask, began using “racially-charged language,” and, after parking his car, walked up to the window where Resendiz was working, the complaint says.

The man started banging on the drive-thru window and yelling racial slurs at the employee, according to the complaint. Resendiz had to hold the window to keep the man from opening it because the lock was broken, but he was able to open it when she reached for the phone to call 911, according to the complaint.

The man screamed that he wanted Resendiz’s name and corporate number, the complaint says.

The manager on duty wrote Resendiz’s full name on a piece of paper to give to the customer, but Resendiz grabbed the piece of paper from the manager, the complaint says.

Resendiz gave the manager the phone and said the manager hung up the 911 call, according to the complaint. The manager explained to Resendiz that the customer would leave if she gave the customer her name, the complaint says.

“‘What if he kills me?’” the worker asked, according to the complaint. “[The manager] didn’t say anything,” the complaint says.

When Resendiz walked back to the window to close it, the man grabbed her and began hitting her, according to the complaint. Resendiz told OSHA that the man bruised her arm, the complaint says.

Resendiz said the manager prevented her from moving away from the window and restrained her from defending herself, according to the complaint. The customer grabbed Resendiz’s shirt and left scratches on her neck, the complainant says.

“I have bloody scratches on my neck and you can see his 3 fingers on one side and his other finger on the other side, that is how I know he grabbed my neck, and I remember clearly that he grabbed my shirt ... I stood up and pushed the window as hard as I could... and he was face to face with me... when he talked he was spitting,”Resendiz told OSHA, the complaint states.

The man left the window after a woman in the car with him subdued him, the complaint says.

An Oakland police spokesperson told McClatchy News that the department is investigating the incident and “has had cooperation.”

McDonald’s is working with the police department, Smith told Business Insider.

“The supervisor on duty called local law enforcement immediately to report the incident,” Smith told Business Insider. “Officers were welcomed into the restaurant to review security footage and are still investigating this matter.”

Resendiz contends no staff called the police except herself, according to the complaint.

Resendiz was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, the complaint says. X-rays of her hand and fingers showed no broken bones, according to the complaint.

This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 7:19 PM with the headline "McDonald’s worker injured after CA man attacked her over mask rule, complaint says."