McDonald's top HR executive leaves after CEO's ouster

Another McDonald's executive is leaving the company after its CEO was ousted over an inappropriate relationship with an employee.

The fast food chain on Sunday said its board of directors pushed out CEO Steve Easterbrook because he violated company policy by having a relationship with an employee. Now, the company's top human resources executive, Chief People Officer David Fairhurst, is also leaving, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

McDonald's said Fairhurst's exit was not related to Easterbrook's, with Fairhurst in a statement on LinkedIn saying he has "decided the time has come for me to move on to my next career challenge," The Associated Press reports.

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While facing lawsuits from women alleging sexual harassment in the workplace, McDonald's in May announced it had "enhanced" its sexual harassment policy, with Easterbrook saying the company now "more clearly informs employees of their rights" and "more clearly defines sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation." McDonald's also set up a new hotline for employees. But Fight for $15, one of the groups that in May announced lawsuits against McDonald's for allegedly failing to prevent sexual misconduct in the workplace, said the Easterbrook case shows that the company's "culture is rotten from top to bottom."