BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a lawsuit March 30 against Beavers’ Inc. doing business as several Arby’s franchises in the Southeast, for allegedly subjecting several teenage female employees to sexual harassment.
According to EEOC, Arby’s hired a team leader trainee at its Atmore, Alabama, restaurant in May 2016, a facility known to have a history of sexual harassment. This employee allegedly pressured young female employees to have sex with him. Many employees complained to supervisors about the harassment but Arby’s purportedly took no action.
The EEOC seeks monetary damages for the victims, as well as injunctive relief against the defendants to prevent future discrimination.
"Federal anti-discrimination laws exist to protect workers from this kind of abuse," EEOC Birmingham District director Delner Franklin-Thomas said in a statement. "The EEOC will continue to aggressively pursue remedies for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly young, vulnerable workers. This kind of misconduct adversely affects not only the harassment victims themselves but also the entire workforce, when timely and effective corrective action is not taken."
The EEOC's Birmingham District oversees agency operations in Alabama, most of Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.