Earlier today, it was noted how the Cheesecake Factory settled a sexual harassment suit that accused the mega-chain of facilitating a "horribly dysfunctional workplace where male workers lived in fear." The $345K settlement resolves charges that the restaurant knew about and tolerated repeated sexual assaults at an Arizona location. The restaurant is declining to talk specifics, but just in case you needed more details, we've gotten our hands on the public records. Brace:
From the complaint are the following actions that the Cheesecake Factory was accused to have "allowed to occur":
(a) repeated sexual assaults by groups of male employees, who, on each occasion, would grab one of the individuals named above or one of the class members, and take turns grinding their genitals into the victim’s genitals in a sexual manner, simulating sex, while making verbal remarks of a sexual nature;Again, even though the suit was now settled, Cheesecake Factory still admits no wrongdoing and says it paid the cash in order to "avoid any further disruptions and additional expenses of litigation."
(b) co-workers bumping into victims from behind in a sexual manner on
multiple occasions; and
(c) co-workers grabbing the genitals of one or more of the victims on
multiple occasions.
· Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vs. The Cheesecake Factory [.pdf]
· Cheesecake Factory settles sexual harassment suit [Reuters]
[Photo via official site]