A December 2024 report on an Associated Press investigation said more than 500 prisoners had worked at local Burger King restaurants in Alabama in the previous five years. The investigation described widespread use of incarcerated workers by businesses; the evidence does not establish RBI’s direct role in hiring or managing them.
Best Western, Bama Budweiser and Burger King are among the more than 500 businesses to lease incarcerated workers from one of the most violent, overcrowded and unruly prison systems in the U.S. in the past five years alone, The Associated Press found as part of a two-year investigation into prison labor. The cheap, reliable labor force has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 through money garnished from prisoners’ paychecks.
After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, RBI said it sought to suspend Russian Burger King operations, halted corporate support and began trying to sell its 15% joint-venture stake. It said contractual limits and the local operator’s refusal prevented closure; the operator disputed his authority to stop stores. Restaurants were still open in October 2023.
"We suspended all corporate support for the Russian market, including operations, marketing, and supply chain support in addition to refusing approvals for new investment and expansion."
Even as Burger King publicly cuts off support to its Russian operation, the fast-food giant has quietly kept a stake in it through an offshore joint venture, leaked documents show.
...Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI), said it had suspended all supply chain, operational and marketing support for the Russian operation.
The fast-food giant is a partner in a Cyprus-registered joint venture with VTB Bank, known as Putin’s “piggy bank,” that shuffled money to and from an anonymous shell company in Seychelles.
Mr. Shear said the company, in addition to the process of disposing of its stake, has demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia, but that main operator of its joint venture has refused to do so. He said it has suspended all corporate support for the Russian market in addition to refusing approvals for new investment and expansion.
Restaurant Brands International agreed to pay $18.2 million to resolve shareholder litigation over its $1 billion buyout of Carrols Restaurant Group. A pension fund’s lawsuit alleged RBI used veto rights to block Carrols from expanding and force an unfair deal; the settlement resolves the claims, not the allegations’ merits.
The settlement disclosed Sept. 11 would resolve shareholder claims filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court by the Plymouth County Retirement Association, a Carrols investor. The lawsuit said RBI — a fast food conglomerate that controls the Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons brands — exploited stifling veto rights to take Carrols private on unfair terms by blocking any other expansion.
Restaurant Brands International Inc. exploited its control over Carrols Restaurant Group Inc., a top owner of Burger King and Popeyes locations, to force the company into an unfair $1 billion buyout, according to an unsealed lawsuit.
On September 8, 2025, Bloomberg Law reported that Restaurant Brands International failed to compel arbitration in a California resident’s lawsuit alleging Burger King’s website tracked users with cookies despite an opt-out banner. The court found insufficient clear and convincing evidence that the visitor had waived the right to challenge whether an arbitration agreement existed.
Restaurant Brands International failed to require arbitration of a California resident’s allegation that the Burger King website used tracking cookies despite an opt-out banner.
The Human Rights Campaign’s corporate resource page lists Restaurant Brands International with a score of 25 out of 25 for “Inclusive Culture.” The supplied evidence does not specify when the rating was issued or what criteria were assessed.
The Human Rights Campaign’s corporate resource page lists Restaurant Brands International with a score of 50 out of 50 for “Inclusive Benefits.” The supplied evidence does not state the assessment date or explain the scoring criteria.
OpenSecrets records $76,520 in contributions attributed to Restaurant Brands International for the 2024 election cycle: 74.07% to Republicans and 25.93% to Democrats. The page says party breakdowns include contributions to candidates and parties, but exclude independent expenditures and electioneering communications.
The Human Rights Campaign’s corporate listing assigns Restaurant Brands International a score of 5 out of 5 for workforce protections. The supplied evidence does not specify a publication date or describe the criteria behind the score.
A Tallahassee restaurant-inspection listing for Restaurant Brands International shows one inspection marked “Facility Temporarily Closed,” with a $400 fine ordered April 27, 2026, for one violation. Other listed results include inspections requiring follow-up and inspections that met standards; the evidence does not identify the facility or explain the findings.
A proposed federal class action filed by Steve Hugi alleges Restaurant Brands International allowed tracking tools on the Firehouse Subs website to collect users’ information and disclose it to Google, Meta and TikTok. Hugi characterized the tools as illegal wiretaps. RBI had not immediately responded to a comment request in the report.
Restaurant Brands International Inc. is facing a federal proposed class action over disclosing consumers’ personal information to Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc., and TikTok Inc. via tracking tools on its Firehouse Subs website.