* Alleged comments about Black women enough for claims to

survive

* But claims over biased promotion were dismissed

* McDonald's has faced series of race bias cases

(Adds McDonald's statement in paragraphs 5-6)

By Daniel Wiessner

March 19 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Chicago on

Wednesday said two former McDonald's vice presidents can proceed

with their lawsuit that they were criticized and subjected to

racial slurs because they are Black women, and then forced out

of the company for complaining.

In a mixed ruling for McDonald's, U.S. District Judge Mary

Rowland dismissed claims that the fast-food giant discriminated

against Victoria Guster-Hines and Domineca Neal by passing them

over for a promotion, saying they had not shown they were the

best candidates for the role they had both sought.

But Rowland said allegations in the 2020 lawsuit that a

regional president had criticized "Black woman attitude" and

described one of the plaintiffs and other McDonald's employees

as "angry Black women" were enough for their hostile work

environment claims to move forward.

"Courts confronted with accusations regarding 'angry Black

women' have noted that this epithet carries significant harm

with it," especially when made by a supervisor, Rowland wrote.

A McDonald's spokesperson in a statement said the company

was pleased that most of the claims had been dismissed.

"The evidence will show the remaining claims against

McDonald's USA are without merit," the spokesperson said.

McDonald's has faced several high-profile lawsuits in recent

years alleging intentional discrimination against Black

employees, franchisees and business partners.

In 2022, a different federal judge in Chicago dismissed a

lawsuit by more than 50 McDonald's franchisees claiming the

company had steered Black franchisees toward less profitable

locations, while granting leave to amend. McDonald's motion to

dismiss an amended complaint is pending.

The company last year settled a $10 billion lawsuit by media

entrepreneur Byron Allen accusing the fast-food chain of

excluding Black-owned media from much of its advertising budget.

The terms were not disclosed but McDonald's said it would

involve buying ads from Allen's companies.

McDonald's last year also settled on undisclosed terms with a

Black former security executive who claimed he was pushed out

after criticizing CEO Chris Kempczinski over text messages

appearing to blame the parents of a girl shot in a McDonald's

drive-thru for her death. Kempczinski later publicly apologized

and said the texts "reveal my narrow worldview that I have to

work hard to correct."

Last year, the company rolled back some of its diversity

policies, including goals for corporate leadership, citing a

"shifting legal landscape" as President Donald Trump took office

and moved to eradicate DEI practices in government and the

private sector. Trump administration officials have suggested

that some common workplace diversity initiatives are unlawful,

and many other major companies have retreated from DEI programs

in response.

The plaintiffs in Wednesday's case both had received various

promotions throughout their time at McDonald's and ultimately

became vice presidents of "Quality, Service, and Cleanliness,"

according to court filings.

They claim in the lawsuit that they were both passed over for a

different vice president role in 2017 and then demoted to the

role of "operations officers" during a restructuring the

following year. They also allege that after filing the lawsuit,

Neal was fired and Guster-Hines was forced to retire.

McDonald's in court filings has denied wrongdoing and said

Neal was fired over her treatment of coworkers and creating a

toxic workplace.

The case is Guster-Hines v. McDonald's USA, U.S. District

Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:20-cv-00117.

For the plaintiffs: Daniel Twetten and Jonathan Loevy of

Loevy & Loevy

For McDonald's: Nigel Telman, Edward Young and Atoyia Harris

of Proskauer Rose