NEW YORK (REUTERS) - McDonald's workers are filing a lawsuit seeking to force the fast-food chain to confront a "systemic problem" of sexual harassment, spokesmen for the workers said in a press statement on Tuesday (Nov 12).

A copy of the proposed class-action complaint was not immediately available. McDonald's did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McDonald's has long been a target of employees' rights advocates, including Fight for $15, which pushes for higher minimum wages and better treatment for workers in fast food, retail, childcare, home health aid and other businesses.

According to the spokesmen, McDonald's workers have filed more than 50 complaints in the last three years alleging a variety of illegal conduct in corporate-owned and franchised McDonald's restaurants.

Workers pursuing the lawsuit are backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Time's Up Legal Defence Fund, the spokesmen said.