Illegal activities of Southern Bosses during the week between Friday, February 6, and Friday, February 13
Louisiana Harassers
Minden Seafood, LLC, and Dorcheat Seafood, LLC, operators of restaurants Minden Seafood and Dorcheat Seafood and Grill, will pay a former employee $34,000 in back pay and emotional distress damages to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a male cook at Minden Seafood repeatedly sexually harassed a female cashier by making unwanted and inappropriate sexually suggestive comments to her, propositioning her, and following her into the women’s bathroom, where he exposed himself to her. She reported the cook’s behavior to a manager and requested working hours to avoid being with him. However, the manager took no steps to protect her from his sexually harassing conduct, and the female employee felt forced to resign in November 2021. She was also denied employment at Dorcheat Seafood and Grill, a sister restaurant to Minden Seafood, according to the suit.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination and retaliation for complaining about discrimination. The EEOC filed its suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
Under the four-year consent decree settling the suit, approved Jan. 28, the companies will compensate the former employee, and also conduct training, revise policies, provide regular reports to the EEOC, and post a notice affirming their obligations under Title VII.
Oklahoma Harassers
Arch Fellow North, LLC, owner and operator of eight McDonald’s restaurants in eastern Oklahoma, will pay $80,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a teenage worker.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an adult male supervisor sexually harassed the teenage worker for about a month in November 2021. When Arch Fellow North learned about the supervisor’s sexual harassment, it failed to properly investigate the allegations and allowed the supervisor to continue supervising the teenage victim and other young workers. As a result, the teenage victim had to quit.
The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason A. Robertson entered and approved a consent decree settling the suit on Jan. 28. In addition to the $80,000 in monetary relief in the consent decree, Arch Fellow North will designate personnel to ensure its compliance with Title VII, enact strong policies and procedures for reporting and handling sexual harassment complaints, and provide for mandatory training for supervisors and non-supervisory employees. The consent decree also requires Arch Fellow North to post a notice to employees about their federal right to be free from sexual harassment in the workplace, provide for multiple avenues for employees to complain about sexual harassment, and report to the EEOC reports of alleged sexual harassment.
The court will maintain jurisdiction over this case for the decree’s 33-month term.