GREENSBORO, N.C. — The owner of a Greensboro Zaxby's restaurant franchise will pay up and provide other relief as settlement for a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a federal agency.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said BCD Restaurants, LLC, violated federal law when a female employee was fired for complaining about sexual harassment.
The complaint centered around a 19-year-old woman who worked as a cashier at the West Gate City Boulevard Zaxby's from November 2018 to January 2019.
The EEOC said the restaurant's general manager made sexually inappropriate comments to the cashier almost daily and included requests for sex.
That cashier complained to a BCD Restaurants owner and the EEOC said she was fired days later.
“A company’s ability to provide a work environment free of harassment is dependent on its employees being able to report this sort of abuse without hesitation,” said Kara Haden, Acting Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office. “Every time an employee complaint about harassment leads to discharge, the entire work environment is placed at risk.”
The settlement requires BCD Restaurants to pay $30,000 to the cashier and the company must also come up with a policy against sexual harassment and retaliatory conduct.
These are some of the other requirements for BCD Restaurants as part of the settlement:
- Anti-harassment training for all employees every year
- Notify current employees of the lawsuit and their rights under federal anti discrimination laws
- Report to EEOC periodically
The EEOC said BCD's conduct violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
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