Women in the restaurant industry – especially younger workers – face frequent sexual harassment at work. A 2021 survey from Social Science Research Solutions found that more than 2/3 (71%) “had been sexually harassed at least once during their time in the restaurant industry.” Another study, published in collaboration with New York’s Queens College and the University of California, found that the problem is noticeably worse since the pandemic. If you have encountered harassment on the job, you may have questions about your legal options. An experienced New York sexual harassment lawyer can help you “unpack” the facts of your situation and the legal avenues available.
Normally, this blog would not focus on an attorney getting disbarred. However, one New York City’s 2024 disciplinary case was far from ordinary… and allegedly began with his grotesque harassment of a waitress.
The attorney, who owned a nightclub in Chelsea, grabbed one of the establishment’s waitresses, groped her breasts and buttocks, pushed her against a wall, and expressed his desire to sniff cocaine off her breasts and buttocks, according to criminal prosecutors. Allegedly, he ended up pouring the drug onto the woman’s neck, arms, and “upper chest,” then licking the drug off her body.
In addition to criminal charges, the incident spawned a civil lawsuit. The lawyer’s ethical violations during those cases were the misconduct that got him disbarred this spring.
Recent filings from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission further highlight what women in the New York restaurant/hospitality industry regularly face. In late September, the agency sued an eatery in the financial district. Allegedly, a female pastry cook experienced unwanted physical touching and sexual overtures, including a penis-shaped object coworkers left at the cook’s workstation with a note telling the woman to “eat it.”. Rather than stopping the abuse, the establishment’s executive chef allegedly exacerbated the problem by watching pornography with male restaurant workers.
Sexual Harassment of Workers Under Age 18
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who worked as a bartender at a Union Square restaurant, told The Hollywood Reporter that “you are harassed all the time. It’s just part of your job” when “you work in the service industry as a woman.” The congresswoman at least had the (slight) advantage of being in her 20s before she encountered her harassment in the industry. Many female employees are victimized at an even younger age.
A few weeks ago, the EEO sued an Applebee’s franchisee in Alabama for failing “to take appropriate action to address a sexually hostile work environment for at least six female employees,” some of whom were underage. Among the forms of alleged misconduct was the discipline of a 16-year-old girl who complained about harassment she received from a much older bartender. Rather than punishing the bartender, the employer prohibited the girl from working as a server, according to the EEOC.
A few weeks before that, a West Virginia worker sued her employer. That 17-year-old employer alleged that she complained about harassment from a worker but, rather than investigating and taking action, her manager told her the harasser was “not the only one who wants to sleep with you.” The manager subsequently began having the girl stay late and began harassing her himself.
The New York Child Victims Act
If the alleged incidents from Alabama and West Virginia had happened in New York, the workers potentially could have advanced several claims in addition to sexual harassment. An employee whose experiences mirrored those of the Alabama girl could pursue a retaliation claim. Retaliation is an illegal employment practice where your employer punishes you for engaging in certain protected activities, including making verbal or written sexual harassment complaints. Under “punishment,” the law includes formal discipline and other informal actions that make your job more difficult or hostile.
16- and 17-year-old employees victimized by sexual harassment and assault may also have opportunities under the Child Victims Act. That New York law says victims who were under 18 may sue for compensation at any point until their 55th birthday.
While many women in the restaurant industry acknowledge sexual harassment as “just part of the job,” it should not be. Even if the employer was not directly responsible for the harassment, the law imposes certain obligations on employers to address and mitigate harassment that it is (or should be) aware of. Employers’ liability is greater if your harasser was also your supervisor. For more information about these cases and your legal options, talk to the knowledgeable New York sexual harassment attorneys at Phillips & Associates. We are here to help you get justice and hold the wrongdoers accountable for the ways in which they violated the law. Contact us online or at (833) 529-3476 to set up a free and confidential consultation to learn what options are available for you.