by Stephen D. Hans | Aug 8, 2023 | Sexual Harassment, Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry
Sexual Harassment Issues in the Restaurant Industry A McDonalds franchise, AMTCR, Inc. settled their sexual harassment lawsuit with the EEOC in January 2023. AMTCR is a franchise owner operating approximately 18 McDonald’s restaurants in Nevada, Arizona and California. What were the details of the case? The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) brought the case against AMTCR on behalf of the workers. The case revealed that AMTCR knew supervisors, managers, and co-workers were sexually harassing employees at various McDonald restaurants. However, they allowed the harassment to continue and did nothing to deal with it. What types of harassment occurred? The targeted employees were young males and females. The behavior violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and included unwanted: Touching Offensive remarks Sexual advances Intimidation The unwanted behavior had occurred since 2017. The EEOC filed its original complaint in Sept. 2021. It complained of the alleged harassment of 11 victims. The hostile work environments and sexual abuse had resulted in most of these employees quitting their jobs. What were the details of the settlement? A U.S. District Judge in Las Vegas heard the case, and the case settled for $1,997,500. Eligible complainants will receive the money from the payout. In addition, the judge’s decree required AMTCR to maintain an outside monitor for overseeing how the company handled their harassment and retaliation complaints. AMTCR agreed to do the following: Improve employee training Track harassment and retaliation complaints Survey employees annually regarding workplace conditions Details of an earlier McDonalds lawsuit that involved McDonalds directly McDonalds was not a party in the above lawsuit. However, in April of 2021, McDonalds...
by Stephen D. Hans | May 16, 2023 | Sexual Harassment
Training your managers to recognize sexual harassment Recognizing sexual harassment in the workplace as it occurs is a major factor in being able to eliminate it. Often, employers do not realize it is happening, which can make their business vulnerable to lawsuits. In the State of New York, harassment no longer needs to be “severe or pervasive” to be illegal. The law considers offensive behavior that is beyond “petty slights or trivial inconveniences” to be harassment. What type of behavior qualifies as sexual harassment? According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment can take the form of the following: Offensive jokes Slurs Epithets or name calling Physical assaults or threats Intimidation Ridicule or mockery Insults or put-downs Offensive objects or pictures Interference with work performance Overt harassment can include sexual propositioning or physical touching and advances. However, with the internet and cell phones, sexual harassment also could take place outside of work through late-night texts that contain sexually suggestive images or unwelcome sexual comments. What are examples of physical behavior that would be unlawful sexual harassment? Unwanted physical behavior includes: Touching Pinching Patting Kissing Hugging Grabbing Poking Brushing against the person Rape Molestation What are some examples of sexual harassment through verbal comments or gestures? Requests for sexual favors while implying threats for not going along with it Repeated requests for dates or giving gifts Reoccurring romantic gestures or propositions Comments about the person’s sexual appearance, romantic history or sexual experience References: ny.gov As an employer, do you need legal assistance with sexual harassment in the workplace? If you are a company owner and have questions or...
by Stephen D. Hans | Aug 25, 2022 | Sexual Harassment
Settlement reached through NY Attorney General Sexual harassment in New York allegedly took place in a Manhattan bar called Sweet & Vicious. It became the subject of a settlement brokered by the NY Attorney General’s Office. The New York Post reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James and the restaurant owner Hakan Karamamahmutoglu reached a $500,000 settlement agreement. Details of the case Sixteen current and former workers are splitting the settlement amount. A 16 month investigation by the AG’s office revealed the following allegations: A work culture where customers harassed and threatened female bartenders Customers threw glasses at them, threatened to stab, rape and beat the women Management did not take action to protect them against customers’ threats Male managers also sexually harassed the women through verbal communication and physical actions Various alleged employment law violations Racial slurs were also part of the alleged discrimination. One worker said the owner referred to her as “the Chinese one.” She wasn’t Chinese, but was too intimidated to defend herself. He called black security guards “gangsters.” What’s more, he referred to a Puerto Rican manager as a “terrorist” and “Puerto Rican trash.” He also used gay slurs. The owner discriminated when hiring bartenders. He only wanted “tall, blonde, beautiful and sexy” women. He either marginalized or fired women who did not fit the description. In addition to sexual harassment and hiring discrimination, overtime pay violations existed. Allegations included making women work overtime without pay, stealing their tips and forcing them to work eight hours straight without time for eating or bathroom breaks. The employer’s defense argument Karamahmutoglu said in his defense...
by Stephen D. Hans | Oct 26, 2021 | Sexual Harassment
What not to do in a sexual harassment lawsuit In September 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the gaming company Activision Blizzard. The lawsuit alleged violations of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. Furthermore, it was a class action lawsuit, naming 10 John Does as defendants. Cnet.com reported that the company reached an $18 million settlement with the EEOC to compensate and make amends to the plaintiffs. Activision Blizzard is a multi-billion dollar company and one of the world’s largest gaming companies. This was not the only lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard, but is the most recent of a number of lawsuits. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the company in July, based on allegations of discrimination and harassment. More than 2,000 employees signed an open letter for the company to take action in support of the harassment victims. In July, employees staged a walkout protest that demanded accountability from the company. Other complaints also existed—one to the National Labor Relations Board and another complaint that resulted in an SEC investigation for sexual misconduct. How the EEOC Deals with Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Claims In a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), companies typically have the opportunity to settle out of court. Willingness to correct sexual harassment in the workplace and undergo conciliation is an early step in dealing with the EEOC. The EEOC first conducts an investigation to determine whether the claim has merit. If the EEOC does not find reasonable evidence, it will issue a Dismissal and Notice of...
by Stephen D. Hans | Mar 8, 2021 | Sexual Harassment, Uncategorized
Employer Defense Against Sexual Harassment Claims Sexual harassment accusations against Governor Cuomo began with one allegation. Subsequently, a second aide added her own allegation to the first, and now a third woman has come forward with her own story alleging sexual harassment against the governor. Legal Proceedings to Address the Case Governor Cuomo formally referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office, which would enable an investigation with subpoena power. He stated that he wanted a thorough and independent review that was above reproach and political interference. For this reason, he requested a qualified private lawyer to do an independent review of the sexual harassment allegations. New York’s Recently Passed Sexual Harassment Law As a result of the New York sexual harassment law passed in 2019, the federal standard of “severe or pervasive” no longer applies when bringing a sexual harassment claim. Previously, the plaintiff had to prove that the sexual harassment was severe. Or, the plaintiff had to prove that the harassment took place over an extended period of time, making it pervasive. An article published by the American Bar Association explains the nuances of the recent law. Under the recent law, sexual harassment examples would include unwelcome sexual advances, sexually motivated physical contact, requests for sexual favors or other physical or verbal conduct or communication that was sexually motivated. It the conduct interferes with work performance or creates an offensive work environment, then it also would be sexual harassment. A single instance might be sufficient to rise to the level of sexual harassment. Affirmative Defense Against Sexual Harassment Allegations To avoid liability for sexual harassment, a defense...
by Stephen D. Hans | Nov 13, 2019 | Sexual Harassment
Could You Be Liable If a Customer Harasses Your Employee? Employers must address sexual harassment by customers in addition to harassment by other employers. Courts can hold employers accountable if they fail to take reasonable actions to prohibit a hostile work environment and protect an employee. While the “customer is always right” is a maxim that people in business try to follow, under these circumstances the customer is not right. EEOC v. Costco Wholesale Corp. A case in point is the EEOC v. Costco Wholesale Corp. case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed the case and in 2018 ruled in favor of the EEOC. Case Details A customer stalked a Costco employee for over a year. The employee reported the stalking to her managers. However, because the managers did not believe the harassment was severely sexual in nature, they did not take stronger actions quickly enough to prevent it. After some time, Costco did tell the customer to leave the employee alone. In fact, Costco eventually banned the customer from the store where the employee worked. However, these actions were taken after constant encounters that lasted over more than a year where the customer repeatedly stalked the employee. He constantly asked her personal questions, touched her on several occasions and then came in disguise to observe her and later on, even took a video of her. After her third interaction with the customer, the employee filed a police report about the stalking. Subsequently, the police called the Assistant General Manager about the report, and as a result he yelled at the employee and told her...
