Is McDonald's Open On Easter Sunday 2022?
McDonald's may have introduced the Filet-O-Fish to cater to Catholics while they fasted for Lent, but don't get it twisted. McDonald's is not Chick-Fil-A. They don't close on Sundays, including Easter Sunday.
As Restaurant Business explained in 2019, "McDonald's sells franchises, not burgers." This means that the majority of their income comes from leasing out McDonald's locations to people and collecting their profit as rent. It also means that the franchisee can operate as they see fit. So individual McDonald's restaurants can choose to close on Easter Sunday or open for a more limited range of hours, but there is no brand-wide regulation requiring this (per Delish).
So, if you are facing Easter without your traditional Easter fare, you should check the hours your local McDonald's will keep. You can find a franchise locator with the relevant information on the company's website. It seems reasonable to assume that at least one McDonald's in your area will be unaffected by the holiday.
McDonald's doesn't want to get involved
The franchise model makes sense when explained, but leads to confusion about who is responsible. Just as you can't really say that a McDonald's will be open for Easter, you can't say that any individual franchise treats their workers well. As with everything else, these issues became more apparent under the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic.
In March of 2020, Business Insider was already reporting on how McDonald's was under pressure to give sick pay to their workers. But McDonald's was already giving sick leave to employees. The problem was that McDonald's is not in direct control over all its restaurants, and some franchisees chose not to offer the sick leave to their workers. Of course, the company could use its power as the franchisor to pressure the franchisees into giving sick pay, but then it might become responsible for how workers at the franchise are treated.
Similarly, McDonald's raised its average salary to $15 per hour, but again, that only really helps the 5% of restaurants it directly controls. McDonald's did encourage its franchises to follow suit, and the company's public move to raise wages did bring pressure onto the franchises.
But these are not the same kind of questions as whether or not a franchise should sell burgers on Easter. McDonald's doesn't want to get involved.