LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Agency (EEOC) alleges a regional fast food chain violated federal law when it subjected three young female workers to inappropriate sexual comments and unwanted touching by male supervisory officials.
According to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the Del Taco fast food chain did not take corrective action and, instead, retaliated against several female employees, most of them teenagers, who worked at a Del Taco in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and complained of sexual harassment. After the young women complained to management, their schedules were changed and their work hours were reduced, leaving them no choice but to leave, the EEOC alleges.
"Employers need to take a serious proactive approach to promoting accountability, training and leadership to achieve a workplace free of harassment," EEOC Los Angeles District Office regional attorney Anna Park said in a statement.
"Younger employees are a highly vulnerable segment of the workforce and may be easy targets for harassers," added EEOC Los Angeles District director Rosa Viramontes. "Employers need to understand that they may be especially liable to experience such abuse, especially when the misconduct is committed by those to whom they have delegated authority."