Washington, May 23 (IANS): At least 10 female Mcdonald's current and former employees in the US have filed sexual harassment complaints against the company, the media reported.

The complaints were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in seven states, including Michigan, Florida, and Louisiana. Most of the incidents were alleged to have occurred over the past two years, CNN reported on Tuesday evening.

The female workers, including a 15-year-old St. Louis, said that the management did not take the complaints seriously and even retaliated by firing them.

McDonald's said in a statement on Tuesday that the company takes sexual harassment allegations "very seriously".

"At McDonald's Corporation, we are and have been committed to a culture that fosters the respectful treatment of everyone. There is no place for harassment and discrimination of any kind in our workplace.

"McDonald's Corporation takes allegations of sexual harassment very seriously and is confident our independent franchisees who own and operate approximately 90 per cent of our 14,000 US restaurants will do the same," the statement added.

A worker in Chicago said that a supervisor retaliated against her by reducing her hours when she reported instances of sexual harassment by management.

The 15-year-old said she was repeatedly harassed by an older employee for two months by commenting on her appearance and sexually propositioning to her.

A 20-year-old woman in North Carolina said that she was sexually harassed by co-workers and supervisors. She also said she was subjected to a hostile work environment at the company-owned store because she is black.