You Deserve $17,500 Today...

In the latest issue of "News of the Irresponsible but Entitled," we discover that a Brazilian judge has ruled that McDonald's must pay a former franchise manager the equivalent of $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds over 12 years. The obese former McDonald's employee claimed that he felt obligated to sample the food each day to ensure it met quality standards because the company hired "mystery clients" to report on the food, service, and cleanliness of the restaurants. The company also provided free lunches to McDonald's employees, which apparently, this man also felt obligated to eat, and this, too, increased his caloric intake.

Let's all give a collective "Awww" for this poor, put-upon, dedicated man who so selflessly gave to his company that he neglected his own well-being and seeks only thousands of dollars in return for his years of free food.  Apparently, he was too dedicated to delegate the task of quality assurance to anyone else in the restaurant and had to sample all the food himself. One might think that after all that sampling, this man wouldn't even desire lunch, or perhaps just a small salad and diet drink, but perhaps he felt the need to re-sample at midday to make sure that standards remained high. One can never have high enough standards in a McDonald's.

I have to wonder if during this man's 12 year tenure as a franchise manager he ever tried to lose any of the weight he was gaining. He obviously didn't put on 65 pounds overnight. At some point, did he ever think to himself, "Maybe I'd better cut back on those Big Macs and large fries because I'm getting kinda supersized myself." I don't recall reading anything that said his contract stated that he had to personally sample the food every day. Did it ever occur to him NOT to eat the food at his restaurant on a daily basis? I wonder what he'll do with his $17,500? Join a gym? Hire a personal trainer? Meet with a dietician or nutritionist? My guess is he'll splurge on a big, expensive dinner (but probably not at McDonald's!)