EEOC Sues Minden Seafood for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation
Federal Agency Charges Company Failed to Protect Worker from a Coworker’s Sexual Advances and Later Refused to Rehire Her
MINDEN, LA (STL.News) Minden Seafood, LLC, a seafood restaurant in Minden, Louisiana, violated federal law when it failed to stop a male worker from repeatedly sexually harassing a female employee and refused to rehire her after she quit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the lawsuit, the female employee was a cashier at Minden Seafood Restaurant. A coworker repeatedly and persistently subjected her to unwelcome sexual advances, including making unwanted and inappropriate comments about her body, sexually propositioning her, following her into a bathroom, and exposing himself to her. The female employee complained to the restaurant owner, who allowed the harasser to continue working with the female employee. Finding conditions intolerable, the female employee felt compelled to resign. She asked to return to work, but her request was denied.
Such alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment, constructive discharge, and retaliation. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Minden Seafood, LLC, Case No. 24-2360) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“Under Title VII, employers have a duty to protect their employees from sexual harassment at work,” said EEOC Field Director Michael Kirkland. “The EEOC will diligently investigate, and, if necessary, file suit against employers that violate the rights of their employees.”
Elizabeth Owen, senior trial attorney for the New Orleans Field Office, said “Retaliation against harassment victims is unlawful. Protecting an individual’s right to oppose discrimination by reporting it in the workplace is an important part of the laws the EEOC enforces.”
