Sexual Harassment of Employees is Illegal

The EEOC recently settled a lawsuit in which it alleged that a male manager had targeted young female employees around the ages of 15-to-20 and subjected them to sexual harassment.  The EEOC’s lawsuit claimed that the manager made sexual comments to these women and that he inappropriately touched and groped some of them.  The EEOC further alleged that he asked one of the restaurant’s 15 year old employees to text him nude pictures of herself.  This event led to the arrest of the manager by the local police.  Despite the accusation, arrest, and indeed a guilty plea for misdemeanor harassment, the restaurant allowed the manager to return to work and did not stop the inappropriate behavior.  The EEOC’s Complaint asserted that New China terminated the employment of at least one female employee in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment by this manager.  This alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment as well as retaliation for complaints of sexual harassment.  See EEOC v. New China, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-00277 (D. Or.).