In September 2004, the Los Angeles District Office of the EEOC filed this lawsuit against Italian restaurant operators Giorgio Caffe & Ristorante, Valentino Las Vegas, LLC, and Valentino Santa Monica, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, alleging discrimination on the basis of gender, female, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the complaint alleged the defendants subjected the complainants to a sexually hostile work environment, leading to the discharge of some complainants. Following some discovery, a settlement agreement, and the filing of several motions for summary judgment and dismissal by the defendants, the parties settled the lawsuit in October 2005 through a consent decree.

The three-year decree, containing agreements not to discriminate or retaliate, required the defendant to: report on complaints and make other compliance reports, keep records, hire an internal monitor, provide the complainants with a neutral reference, post and distribute notice of employee rights, provide EEO training, provide the EEOC with a list of female employees for a specified number of years, add compliance with EEO policies to managerial performance evaluations, and pay $600,000 to be distributed to at least five employees at the EEOC's sole discretion. Following issuance of the consent decree, the District Court terminated the lawsuit for lack of prosecution in April 2007, but vacated the order and reopened it later that month. The case was finally dismissed for lack of prosecution in March 2009.

Daisy Manning - 05/26/2008
Rachel Barr - 05/04/2018


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