A senior technology manager at McDonald's Australia has filed a lawsuit alleging sex discrimination and a hostile work environment, claiming she was consistently belittled and undermined by male leaders before her role was effectively taken from her. Nicola van Moerkerken, who joined McDonald's in 2009, asserts in her Federal Court filing that she experienced less favorable treatment based on her sex and perceived mental health. She also alleges disability discrimination.
Van Moerkerken, who previously held a senior role in tech engineering overseeing a team of seven, detailed a pattern of alleged intimidation, belittling, and aggressive behavior from men in the senior leadership team. Her filing describes a "boys' club" culture where inappropriate behavior and complaints were allegedly ignored, noting that women constitute only 12 percent of the Technology Department workforce.
Allegations of Discriminatory Treatment
According to the lawsuit, Van Moerkerken was repeatedly ignored or had her views dismissed by the all-male leadership team. She claims she faced challenges speaking up without being labeled "difficult." The alleged mistreatment intensified in 2024 after Travis Foti was promoted to Chief Technology Officer and Shane Bromfield became IT Director. Van Moerkerken states she experienced "hostile treatment, belittling conduct, gaslighting, and being excluded from decision-making processes."
McDonald's has denied these allegations, disputing aspects of the timeline and stating that no such culture existed within the Technology department. The company also denies that Foti and Bromfield behaved as alleged.
The lawsuit pinpoints an incident in October 2024 where Van Moerkerken raised concerns about a candidate's qualifications with People Director Emma Peir. Her filing states Peir became defensive and called her "you're being difficult," an account McDonald's disputes as inaccurate.
On October 15, Van Moerkerken alleges she was summoned to a meeting with Foti, who questioned her mental health and recent behavior. According to her claim, Foti suggested she "rethink whether this is the right workplace" and advised her to "be a team player" and "not the difficult woman that people are concerned to work with." Van Moerkerken felt "patronized and intimidated," believing Foti was attempting to gaslight her into thinking her concerns were baseless.
Escalation and Role Alteration
Further exacerbating the situation, Foti allegedly warned Van Moerkerken that three directors had raised concerns about her behavior, including her complaints about company practices. He reportedly suggested it would be a "bad look" if a fourth director did so and again implied she should reconsider her position at McDonald's.
In a separate meeting on November 11, Van Moerkerken met with Foti and Bromfield to discuss recruitment processes. She alleges Foti questioned her motives, told her she was "challenging to work with" and "not a team player," leading her to "sob uncontrollably" and feel "humiliated, personally attacked, dejected and helpless."
McDonald's acknowledged Van Moerkerken was upset but denied she was crying "uncontrollably." The company stated Foti offered her tissues and words of support, and denied allegations that he told her to go home and think about her actions.
Following these events, Van Moerkerken took medical leave. She subsequently received a letter indicating McDonald's' preliminary view that she was "unable to perform the inherent requirements of her role." Shortly thereafter, she learned a team member had been promoted into her position, and she was to move into a new role within the department.
Van Moerkerken alleges McDonald's unilaterally altered her role and replaced her, constituting differential treatment based on her sex. McDonald's counters that a restructure on that date led to her prior role ceasing to exist, divided into three new positions, and denies knowledge of any disability she may have.
Mediation efforts earlier in the week did not resolve the matter, and it is scheduled to return to court at a later date. McDonald's Australia did not respond to inquiries regarding the percentage of women in senior leadership or past workplace culture reviews.