The Horrible Boss Who Became a Horrible Customer
Is it Employment Discrimination When Restaurants Fail to Protect Employees From Harassment by Customers?
Jobs that involve interacting face-to-face with customers are not for the faint of heart. When you work in customer service, you see people being rude; even customers who work in customer service jobs themselves seem to reserve their worst behavior for you. Being successful as a manager in a job like this requires interpersonal skills beyond what many of us possess. When customers ask to speak to the manager, you adopt the attitude that “the customer is always right” even though the customer is being unreasonable, but when you talk to the employee to whose behavior the customer took offense, you openly acknowledge the unreasonableness of the customer’s request or complaint. Giving customers a few meals free after they complain that the spinach was too green or that the steak they ordered was well done and did not have any pink in the middle is part of the business.
De-escalation of conflict is part of a restaurant manager’s job. If managers fail to intervene when customers treat servers unfairly, or if they take adverse actions against servers for complaining about mistreatment by customers, the employer could face discrimination lawsuits. If your employees are upset about the way you responded to inappropriate behavior by customers, contact a California employment law attorney.
The Horrible Boss Who Became a Horrible Customer
A restaurant in Los Angeles is facing a discrimination lawsuit by two servers who allege that the same man harassed them during and after his time working there. The man, referred to as Marcus in the lawsuit, allegedly sexually harassed at least two women who worked as servers while he was a manager at the restaurant, which is a popular hangout for Hollywood celebrities. They claim that he frequently made sexually suggestive comments to them, and one of them accuses him of non-consensual groping.
When the waitresses complained to other supervisors, Marcus was eventually fired, although no one ever specifically told the plaintiffs that their complaints were the cause for the termination of his employment. The trouble did not end there, though. Marcus continued to visit the restaurant as a customer and continued to harass the plaintiffs. One of the plaintiffs complained about it to a manager, who brushed off her complaint. When the other plaintiff complained, the restaurant changed her schedule so that she no longer worked the most lucrative shifts. The second plaintiff alleges in her lawsuit that this is employer retaliation because changing an employee’s schedule against the employee’s wishes counts as adverse action, and when it occurs in response to a protected activity by an employee, such as complaining about sexual harassment, it is unlawful retaliation. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for lost wages.
Contact SNR Law Group About Responding to Allegations of Employment Discrimination
An employment law attorney can help you if employees are accusing you of retaliating against them for complaining about discrimination. Contact SNR Law Group in Tustin, California to discuss your case.
Sources
https://la.eater.com/2023/9/20/23882389/nobu-malibu-lawsuit-hostess-sexual-harassment-discrimination