EEOC Sues Two Employers – Sexual Harassment of Teens

Federal Agency Alleges Applebee’s Franchise and Sports Facility Allowed Hostile Work Environment to Fester

WASHINGTON, DC (USPress.News) The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed lawsuits against two companies that failed to maintain harassment-free working environments for our nation’s youth.

“Young workers are particularly vulnerable to harassment and other forms of workplace discrimination because they have less work experience, are less likely to know when someone crosses a boundary, and may be afraid to report an older or more powerful harasser,” said EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride.  “The EEOC will defend the rights of these young workers and hold accountable the employers who failed to protect them.”

Monday, September 30, 2024, the EEOC filed:

• EEOC v. Quality Restaurant Concepts, LLC – Case No. 2:24-cv-1331 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.  The agency filed suit against Applebee’s restaurant franchisee after the company failed to take appropriate action to address a sexually hostile work environment for at least six female employees since April 2023.  According to the lawsuit, the male general manager, other male employees, and customers at the Applebee’s restaurant in Chelsea, Alabama, harassed female employees through sexual comments, unwanted sexual advances, sexually offensive conduct, and sexual contact.  The company failed to take appropriate action upon receiving complaints about the general manager’s conduct.  It allowed him to continue working closely with female employees he harassed despite his prior history of sexually harassing a 16-year-old female employee at another restaurant.  The restaurant’s managers admonished a 16-year-old female employee after she complained about sexual harassment from a 38-year-old bartender, and they later prohibited her from working as a server.  At least two female employees quit because of the toxic work environment.

Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District, said, “Many of the female employees in this case are teenagers who were new to the workplace and unfamiliar with their rights.  A priority of the EEOC is defending the civil rights of vulnerable young people, such as the teenage employees in this case.  The EEOC will continue to hold employers accountable when they fail to protect their workers from a sexually hostile work environment.”

• EEOC v. Intrepid Gymnastics, LLC – Case 3:24-cv-0310 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.  The agency filed suit against the gymnastics training facility after it subjected female employees, including teenage coaches, to severe and pervasive sexual harassment.  According to the lawsuit, the president and majority owner of Intrepid subjected a 19-year-old employee to unwelcome sexual harassment, continuing a pattern of unlawful conduct, including making sexual advances to female employees and students who were 19 years old or younger, frequently offering money for sex, asking them to procure other female employees for group sex, and sending sexually charged text messages.  Intrepid failed to provide its young coaches and employees with a harassment policy defining conduct constituting sexual harassment, failed to give details on reporting harassment, and failed to identify the person responsible for receiving reports of harassment.

“Sexual harassment of young employees regardless of the industry is a serious problem, and combatting this remains a priority of the EEOC,” said Edmond Sims, Jr., acting district director of the EEOC’s Memphis District Office.

These companies’ alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits a sexually hostile workplace environment and retaliation.  The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process in each case.

In fiscal year 2023, the EEOC received more than 7,700 charges of sexual harassment in the nation’s workplaces, the highest number in 12 years and up nearly 25% from the previous year.  The EEOC recently released updated Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace with more than 70 examples, including online harassment.