A 72-year-old claims McDonald's fired him due to age after decades of service—now he's taking legal action
A 72-year-old McDonald’s veteran has filed suit, claiming age discrimination and wrongful termination after more than four decades on the job.
On October 17, 2025, Paul Rice took his former employer, McDonald’s USA, LLC, to federal court in Atlanta, alleging that the company let him go not for performance, but because of his age. Rice’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, outlines a situation familiar to many HR professionals: a long-serving employee, a new supervisor, and a series of management decisions that led to a disputed exit.
Rice spent approximately forty-four to forty-five years with McDonald’s, working in both franchise and corporate roles across five states: Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, and Maryland. His final position was as a Field Operations Associate in Atlanta, where his duties included Customer First Visits, Running Great Restaurant Visits, Food Safety Visits, subject matter expert training sessions, and National Restaurant Building and Equipment Surveys. The complaint states that Rice received multiple trophies and awards for excellent performance and that his team received national recognition for their work on restaurant evaluations.
The complaint alleges that in 2022, Rice began reporting to a new supervisor, Jerome Parker, who is described as being substantially younger. Rice claims Parker subjected him to standards different from those applied to younger colleagues. For example, Rice alleges he was reprimanded for completing store visits early and for not entering evaluations into the system within forty-eight hours, while younger colleagues who committed similar infractions were not disciplined.
According to the complaint, in June 2024, Parker placed Rice on a Performance Improvement Plan, which Rice describes as subjective and containing nearly impossible guidelines. Rice alleges he was penalized for minor typographical errors and that his accomplishments, such as training new team members and handling a heavy workload, were not recognized. Despite claims that he completed the vast majority of the expectations outlined in the PIP, Rice was terminated on or about September 12, 2024, before the plan was completed.
The complaint further states that Rice was not given two weeks of weekly check-ins required by the PIP and was not informed during these weeks whether he was meeting the standards. Rice also alleges that supervisors failed to acknowledge his achievements, denied him training opportunities, and criticized his choices in professional development, while younger employees were treated more favorably.
Rice is seeking relief under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, including lost wages and benefits, liquidated damages, interest, and attorneys’ fees. As of now, these are allegations, and McDonald’s has not yet responded to the complaint.
