Shreveport, Louisiana-based Minden Seafood, LLC, and Dorcheat Seafood, LLC, operators of restaurants Minden Seafood and Dorcheat Seafood and Grill, will pay a former employee $34,000 in back pay and emotional distress damages to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a male cook at Minden Seafood repeatedly sexually harassed a female cashier by making unwanted and inappropriate sexually suggestive comments to her, propositioning her, and following her into the women’s bathroom, where he exposed himself to her.
She reported the cook’s behavior to a manager and requested working hours to avoid being with him. However, the manager took no steps to protect her from his sexually harassing conduct, and the female employee felt forced to resign in November 2021. She was also denied employment at Dorcheat Seafood and Grill, a sister restaurant to Minden Seafood, according to the suit.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination and retaliation for complaining about discrimination. The EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. Minden Seafood LLC and Dorcheat Seafood, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:24-cv-02360) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
Under the four-year consent decree settling the suit, approved Jan. 28, the companies will compensate the former employee, and also conduct training, revise policies, provide regular reports to the EEOC, and post a notice affirming their obligations under Title VII.
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Lawsuits
Louisiana
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