Date: February 27, 2012 | Category: Sexual Harassment
West Palm Beach - The owner/operator of a Hurricane Grill and Wings restaurant franchise in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., will pay $200,000 to settle a class sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged that the company violated federal law when it permitted a class of female servers to be sexually harassed by a customer, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy. The EEOC alleged that the company fired a female server after management learned she had hired a private attorney to assist her in filing an EEOC complaint. The suit further alleged that the servers were frequently grabbed on their breasts and buttocks and humiliated by sexual innuendo, as well as direct invitations to join the harasser and his wife in a ménage a trois. In addition to the $200,000 settlement, Hurricane Wings Management has agreed to amend and redistribute its sexual harassment policy; offer training to all employees, including management; post a notice regarding its continued effort to ensure that the restaurant is free of sexual harassment and its intent not to retaliate further; monitoring and reporting to the EEOC; and a written request for the offending patron to stay away from the facility.
