Restaurant Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Suit

A Merrill, Wis., restaurant will pay $41,000 and furnish other relief under a consent decree entered by the federal court in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

According to the EEOC's suit (EEOC and Sherry L. Brown v. Merrill Pine Ridge LLC, et al., No. 3:11-cv-589), one of the cooks at New Pine Ridge restaurant, Shahi N. Selmani, created a sexually hostile work environment when he repeatedly made crude remarks to waitresses and grabbed their breasts. The EEOC alleged that, despite the women's complaints, restaurant owner Qemal Alimi did not stop Selmani's harassment and instead fired some of the waitresses in retaliation for their complaints.

Sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in August 2011 after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

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Source: EEOC

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