EEOC's Washington DC and Charlotte, NC offices jointly filed this sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against the defendant, Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Caroline (Asheville)) on 01/08/2004. EEOC alleged on behalf of three female employees at defendants' Shelby, NC restaurant that the defendant condoned a supervisor's sexual harassment activities, including inappropriate physical and verbal conduct. EEOC also claimed that the hostile work environment resulted in the constructive discharge of one employee. The constructively discharged employee intervened in the suit.

The parties settled without engaging in much discovery. A three-year consent decree was entered on 01/26/2005.

Under the decree, the defendant would pay the three complainants a total of $150,000 in back pay. The defendant must eliminate records of the lawsuit and relevant events from the employees' employment records and provide neutral letters of reference. Prohibited from discriminating and retaliating on the basis of sex in the future, the defendant must also provide annual training to all employees at the Shelby, NC restaurant. Additionally, the defendant was required to distribute its revised EEO policies and post notice of the settlement of the lawsuit. The decree was to last for three years. The docket sheet doesn't show any further enforcement took place; the case was presumably closed in 2008.

Justin Kanter - 06/17/2007
- 06/11/2017


compress summary