Ruby Tuesday Sexual Harassment Suit Settles for $225,000

Camryn Hansen

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The Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Stroudsburg, PA has agreed to pay a total of $225,000 to five female employees who were allegedly sexually harassed by their male supervisors.

The harassment included making crude sexual propositions to women, frequently making sexually explicit and graphic remarks to them about their appearance, and making lewd comments in their presence about female customers, the suit said. The EEOC said that some of the women harassed were teenagers.

"Sexual harassment is always unacceptable, but when some of the victims are vulnerable teenagers, it is especially unconscionable," EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru said in a released statement. –The Morning Call

The EEOC filed the lawsuit against Ruby Tuesday’s general manager, Christopher Mendoza, and other supervisors in August 2008. More than a dozen female employees were involved in the suit, but only five were ultimately paid in the settlement, in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $101,000.

In addition to the monetary settlement, Ruby Tuesday has promised to offer annual sexual harassment training to its Stroudsburg management team.

Having worked in numerous restaurants, I can readily vouch for the ubiquity of sexual harassment in every single one of them. It’s gratifying to see our legal system command meaningful consequences for such unprofessional behavior.