DALLAS – MEMPHIS – LITTLE ROCK – Two Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurants in Arkansas and Texas subjected female employees, including teens, to sexually hostile work environments in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in lawsuits filed in Little Rock and Dallas today.

Brinker Arkansas, Inc., doing business as Chili’s Grill & Bar in Benton, Ark., violated federal law when it subjected a class of female teens to sexual harassment, the EEOC charged. The sexual harassment, committed by a 33-year old male cook, involved several physical assaults and forced one of the victims to resign.

The EEOC also charges that in Prosper, Texas, just outside of Dallas, Brinker International Payroll Company, L.P., also doing business as Chili’s Grill & Bar, violated federal law on the same basis. The primary sexual harasser in that case was a 36-year-old male employee who grabbed and touched a female employee from behind and made vulgar sexual comments to her in both English and Spanish. The Texas lawsuit also charges that a number of other male cooks and other hourly employees repeatedly made sexual remarks about teen employees.

According to both EEOC lawsuits, the restaurants hired teens, failed to train the teens on their anti-harassment policy, and failed to monitor the workplace to provide a safe working environment. Both restaurants failed to take proper action when teens complained about sexual assaults on the job. One restaurant...

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