NS Wendy’s Store Owner Accused of Failure to Protect Staff from Attacker | The Canadian News

Two young women who worked at a Wendy’s restaurant in Cape Breton filed lawsuits against the owner of the fast food establishment, alleging that the company failed to protect them from a supervisor who was later convicted of sexually assaulting staff members.

The civil suits say both plaintiffs were minors when the alleged crimes occurred in 2019 and 2020 inside a Wendy’s in Sydney, NS, owned and operated by T-Roy Enterprises Ltd.

The women allege in separate claim statements that the company did nothing when they reported being repeatedly sexually assaulted.

One of the lawsuits was filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on March 22 and the other with the court on Thursday.

The accusations have yet to be proven in court.

The company has filed a defense notice denying all the allegations contained in the first lawsuit.

The women allege that the supervisor continued to work with both after the company was informed of the alleged sexual assaults and after a complaint was filed with the police.

One plaintiff alleges that the supervisor continued to sexually assault her until her arrest in August 2020.

Among other things, the lawsuits allege that the company failed to adequately evaluate or train its employees and did not supervise staff to “prevent and minimize the risk of sexual assault and sexual misconduct.”

In its defense notice filed on June 11, T-Roy Enterprises claims that the plaintiff in the first lawsuit was the subject of a series of written warnings alleging poor job performance.

The notice says the plaintiff was fired for just cause in August 2020. It also asks the court to dismiss the court action.

The province’s Public Ministry confirmed Thursday that the supervisor, identified in the lawsuits as David MacDonald, pleaded guilty in provincial court to five counts of sexual assault against five victims.

MacDonald is scheduled to be sentenced in Sydney provincial court on September 21.

This Canadian Press report was first published on September 16, 2021.