COMPANY AGREES TO PAY $600K TO IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS
Things got a bit bizarre at the Red Robin restaurant in Everest, Washington.
On a daily basis, a 45-year-old line cook is alleged to have sexually harassed the establishment’s female employees. He is said to have made “offensive comments,” requested sexual favors, made “unwanted remarks about their bodies,” and also touched and leered at them without their consent. Despite multiple complaints, management reportedly failed to address the misconduct, forcing one employee to quit.
Believing such conduct to be violative of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit (EEOC v. Red Robin International, Inc., Case No. 2:22-cv-01378) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In a recently announced settlement, in addition to remitting $600,000 to the impacted employees, Red Robin agreed to modify its employment related polices and practices.
By way of a written statement, EEOC Senior Trial Attorney May Che noted that, “Everyone has the right to work in an environment free from harassment and retaliation …. Employers must be held responsible when they fail in their responsibility to protect workers.”
Was that one big round robin?
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