More restaurants being sued by the EEOC for sexual harassment involving teenagers and other vulnerable workers
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Restaurants in the U.S. are still struggling to hire and keep staff due to post-pandemic economic factors and a shift away from the industry by many employees.
Because of this, some experts are observing an increase in sexual harassment lawsuits involving teenagers and other “vulnerable” employees.
“It seems like these businesses are in a squeeze to hire employees, oftentimes trying to get more creative and expand their employee base, and willing to take on anyone and everyone who can legally work for them, including minors,” said Alex Karasik, L&E attorney at Duane Morris.
“A lot of these minors, as the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] EEOC has noted, it's their first job, their first foray into employment, and they may not fully be aware of what is appropriate versus what is inappropriate.”
And the commission has been more aggressive towards prosecuting harassment cases, she says.
As part of its recently-released Strategic Enforcement Plan for fiscal years 2024 to 2028, the EEOC announced in September that it is expanding its protection of vulnerable workers to those who “may be unaware of their rights under equal employment opportunity laws, may be reluctant or unable to exercise their legally protected rights, or have historically been underserved by federal employment discrimination protections”.
The EEOC named teenagers among this...
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