Restaurant chain settles sexual harassment, retaliation suit for $3 million

On October 13, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it settled a $3 million sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against an Italian restaurant chain with 15 locations in California and Nevada. The EEOC brought the suit on behalf of a class of female employees.

Both supervisors and employees at multiple locations repeatedly subjected female employees, many of whom were teenagers, to sexual harassment, the EEOC suit alleges.

The harassment included inappropriate workplace behaviors, such as explicit references to sexual activities, among other wrongdoings that violated the law.

Female employees complained to their employer about the harassment, but the restaurant didn’t stop it and retaliated against many of them. As a result, several female employees resigned.

“Sexual harassment continues to be a widespread issue in the restaurant industry, and during this case, we learned of at least 100 women negatively affected by [the restaurant’s] work environment,” said Beatriz B. Andre, acting regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District.

The alleged conduct that occurred throughout the restaurant chain violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits a hostile workplace environment based on sex, including sexual harassment, as well as retaliation against individuals who complain about sexual harassment or engage in other protected activity.

Key to remember: Restaurant settles federal lawsuit alleging it created a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against more than 100 female employees.