Working in a restaurant can be a stressful job. Working in a restaurant often means working busy hours and very late shifts. Not only do they have to deal with everything that can go wrong in the back of the house, but ensuring that the “customer is always right” requires some finesse. Restaurant employees have to put up with a lot of things, but sexual harassment should never be one of them.
A St. Louis restaurant recently agreed to a settlement of $23,000 after a female employee was forced to suffer sexual harassment at the hands of an assistant supervisor. According to the young woman, the assistant supervisor not only rubbed his body up against hers, but he also tried to grope her. In at least one instance, he attempted to reach up her shirt and also tried to kiss her against her wishes.
After the incident, the young woman reported the harassment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws that prohibit employment discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. The EEOC then charged the restaurant with the sexual harassment claim — a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — on September 1.
The restaurant agreed to settle the claim in June, reaching a final settlement in $23,000. Not only did the restaurant agree to pay the employee $23,000 for the alleged harassment, but they agreed to terms set by the EEOC. The terms included reporting to the EEOC any internal complaints of sexual harassment made by any employees for the next 18 months.
Source: The Job Mouse, “Villa Galleria Subjected Employee Sexual Harassment By Assistant Supervisor,” June 25, 2012
