Employment Lawyers Answer: “What should I do after my boss sexually harassed and touched me?” as “My boss treats me different as a woman. What can I do?”For some reason, restaurant managers feel like sexual harassment employment laws do not apply to them. Just because patrons get all drunk and gropey, restaurant managers feel that a sexually charged work place is part of the culture that they can participate in with their subordinate employees. As an example of how bad this can get, let’s look at La Rana Hawaii, LLC dba Señor Frog’s & Altres, Inc. According to the sexual harassment complaint, “female servers and bartenders were repeatedly bombarded with sexual propositions, explicit sexual remarks, groping, grabbing, and exposure of genital areas by male managers, and even ordered to perform sexual favors for high-level Señor Frog officials,” which included that there was “widespread sexual harassment … stemming from Señor Frog’s owner himself.” Going even further, the owner “permitted other Honolulu restaurant managers and supervisors to do the same.”
Additionally, the conduct was not limited to sexual harassment, but also involved gender discrimination as female employees were denied promotions, assigned less favorable shifts, and were paid less than their male coworkers.
To make matters even worse, complaining of the harassment and discrimination, at least one of the women was wrongfully terminated and others female workers were disciplined and retaliated against by having their hours cut.
Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Ohio’s R.C. § 4112.99 make it unlawful for employers to discriminate based on gender and to sexually harass subordinates. Additionally, these laws also make it unlawful for employers to retaliate against any employee that complains or even participates in an investigation about gender discrimination or sexual harassment. Also, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires employers to pay men and women the same wages for the same work.
Señor Frog’s learned this the hard way, now has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle the sexual harassment, gender discrimination, wrongful termination, and unlawful retaliation claims.
Employment Lawyers Answer: “What should I do after my boss sexually harassed and touched me?” as “My boss treats me different as a woman. What can I do?”
If you feel that you are being sexually harassed or are working in a sexually charged or hostile working environment, you should not wait to call the right attorney at 866-797-6040 to schedule a free and confidential consultation. At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, you will meet with a sexual harassment lawyer/hostile work environment attorney to find out what your legal rights are and the best way to protect them. Sexual harrassment is a form of gender discrimination, and employers should be held accountable if they discriminate against female workers in any fashion – but particularly for sexual harrassment.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at the top of this page and at this gender discrimination and employment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking “What should I do …”, “I’m being discriminated against …”, “my boss is touching…” or “How do I …”, your best course is to contact an Ohio sexual harassment attorney/hostile work environment lawyer to obtain advice with respect to sexual harassment/hostile work environment questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at the top of this page or through this employment law website are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.