I work at McDonald's and have a compromised immune system. The treatment of workers during the coronavirus pandemic makes my blood boil.

• I'm a 20-year-old college student working full-time at a McDonald's franchise in Michigan to support myself and pay for my schooling.
• Seeing the president of McDonald's claim that we are "essential" is a load of crap that got my blood boiling.
• I have a compromised immune system, but I've been told that I'm not allowed to wear any kind of mask at work because it might "put the customers off."
• If more customers did the right thing and remained at home, these big corporations would do the right thing and shut down until this pandemic passes - keeping me and millions of other employees safe.
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Editor's note: When Business Insider reached out to fast-food workers to share their experience about working during the coronavirus outbreak, dozens responded. We are running one employee's response as an anonymous op-ed.

I'm a 20-year-old college student working at a McDonald's franchise full-time to support myself and pay for my schooling. I also have a compromised immune system. I'm sure you can imagine my fear, as well as my friends' and family's concern, with the coronavirus outbreak and how it could impact me.

Unfortunately for me, I must continue to work in order to pay my bills and cannot afford to take a leave of absence, even if I wanted to - which I do.

Seeing the president of McDonald's claim that we are "essential" is a load of crap. It got my blood boiling. All these higher-ups care about is making money and doing no work for it. They have absolutely no clue what it feels like to burn your hand while cleaning a grill, or splash hot oil down your arm, or spill boiling water on your torso while trying to clean the never-working ice cream machine. They don't get berated by customers on the daily, told they're stupid and that they'll never make it out of fast food.

They don't care about their employees, they never have, and they probably never will.

There's a problem with that.

Because you see, I have a compromised immune system and have been told that I'm not allowed to wear any kind of mask at work because it might "put the customers off." That all I can do if someone sneezes on their money before handing it to me is wash my hands 2 to 3 minutes later and hope they didn't have the coronavirus. That I'm not allowed to upset the customers in any way, shape, or form because "they pay your paychecks" and "if you want to keep your job, you'll do as you're told."

Even if what I'm being told to do could kill me, I'm expected to die for this job before I show my displeasure.

Do you see the problem?

These big corporations don't actually care about their employees like they claim they do, and that's showing now more than ever before.

By choosing to remain open, to put me and millions of other workers at risk of catching the virus all because they want to keep their pockets heavy, they're not sticking to their word at all. Fast food isn't what America needs right now. What they need is to continue to remain at home and practice social distancing, keep washing their hands, and only leave if absolutely necessary. No one needs a Big Mac or a Whopper right now, no one is going to die if they can't get their chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A or Caramel Latte from Starbucks.

America, you do not need fast food.

And yes, all the workers are cussing about you when you pull up to the drive-thru cause you may not even know it, but you could be a carrier for the virus. Putting others at risk for a sandwich that you could make at home just isn't worth it.

If more customers did the right thing and remained at home, these big corporations would finally begin to realize that they aren't essential right now and would hopefully do the right thing by shutting down until this pandemic passes - keeping me and millions of other employees safe during these dangerous times.

The author of this post is a 20-year-old college student who works at a McDonald's franchise full-time.

Business Insider reached out to McDonald's for comment on this op-ed. A representative noted McDonald's and franchisees have made significant adjustments over the last two weeks, including locations shut seating areas, moving to carry-out, drive-thru, and delivery. Stores are now rolling out contactless service, which includes updating how employees are configured while working and creating ways to get food made and handed off to customers without any contact.

The CDC does not currently recommend most people wear masks, instead saying they should be reserved for caregivers. A McDonald's representative said: "McDonald's and independent owner operators will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and related state or local laws that may require wearing of a mask or gloves as a reasonable accommodation in connection with a disability/pre-existing health condition and if a crew member is seeking an accommodation for an impairment, they should contact their General Manager."

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