Seven Waitresses Bring Sexual Harassment Case Against Restaurant

$1,100,000 — Seven Waitresses Bring Sexual Harassment Case Against Restaurant —

This case involved seven young women in their early twenties who were working part-time as waitresses. Each of the women claimed to be subjected to varying degrees of sexual harassment from the male cooks at the restaurant. They alleged the cooks would frequently make cat-calls at them, and made crude and offensive sexual remarks. The women further claimed these men would touch them often and without reason on their hand and arms. Several of the women alleged the cooks would block their passage and slam into them with carts of food. A few of the women stated the cooks had touched their breasts and buttocks.

Several of the waitresses claimed they had complained to management about the harassment on multiple occasions, but nothing had been done about it.

Defendants claimed that no such harassment had taken place, and the waitresses had not utilized the formal complaint process set up by the restaurant. They claimed they had no notice of the sexual harassment. Defendants further claimed they conducted significant training for their employees to prevent sexual harassment. Any touching that had occurred, they alleged, was accidental and inadvertent, due to the fact that the Plaintiffs worked in close quarters with the cooks.

Through investigation and discovery, Ms. McKenna and her prior law firm were able to elicit testimony from a former manager at the restaurant that indeed he had received complaints about the sexual harassment as alleged by the waitresses. Further, they found evidence to establish that any training that took place at the restaurant regarding sexual harassment took place entirely in the English language, while each of the cooks accused of sexual harassment understood only limited English.

RESULT: Settlement for the plaintiffs, $1,100,000.

*Many of the cases that Winer, McKenna, Burritt & Tillis LLP, has settled are highly confidential. In order to provide consumers with an accurate list of settlements, we have accurately stated the amount of the settlement and the facts of the case, but we have changed the location of the cases and the industry of the companies we have sued to make the identification of the actual company impossible.