Lessons to Learn from EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuits Brought Against Restaurants in 2015

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released details of the lawsuit it brought against Mayflower Seafood of Goldsboro, Inc. (“Mayflower”). In this case, it is EEOC’s position that Mayflower violated federal law by subjecting a female employee to a sexually hostile work environment and retaliating against her after she complained about the harassment and filed criminal charges against the harassers. EEOC has indicated that Mayflower retaliated against the employee by reducing her hours and ultimately removing her from the schedule after she filed criminal charges. For more information on the details of this case and the consent decree, see EEOC’s December 1, 2015 press release. As quoted from the EEOC regional attorney for EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, “All workers have the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment. No one should have to put up with sexual comments or unwanted touching while they are at work. In addition, employers must remember they cannot retaliate against an employee for complaining about sexual harassment.” According to EEOC’s 2014 Charge Statistics, the protected class on which charges were most frequently filed, out of all the protected classes under which discrimination can be filed, was retaliation at 42.8{c91082aefe0e580fe546c40af534787b48cfd474f8c9ab8dac50bf49a7a1c43a}.

The other sexual harassment lawsuit EEOC brought against a seafood restaurant occurred earlier in 2015 and was brought against Red Lobster. In this case, Red Lobster settled a sexual harassment case with EEOC for $160,000. The behavior in this case involved a former culinary manager subjecting 3 female employees to severe and pervasive sexual harassment, including numerous instances of verbal and physical sexual harassment. During the investigation of this case, it was discovered that the restaurant’s general manager failed to take the necessary action to promptly stop the sexual harassment. It is simply not enough to just have the written policies and procedures. They need to be enforced. The 2015 lawsuit EEOC brought against Red Lobster demonstrates and reinforces the importance of enforcing these policies.

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