Restaurant Owners: Watch Out for Harassment Claims!
Los Angeles, CA
It is time to take sexual harassment off the menu in the restaurant industry.
The prevalence of sexual harassment has taken center stage in the wake of the #metoo movement. Sexual harassment claims occur on a daily basis and across all industries. There are more sexual harassment reported in the service industry than any other industry. In fact, there are three times as many reported incidences of sexual harassment in the restaurant industry than there are among manufacturing and healthcare employees.[i] An astonishing, 90% of women and 70% of men have experienced some form of sexual harassment from co-workers while working in the service industry.[ii]
Restaurant Sexual Harassment Claims
Sexual harassment is bad for business – it effects moral, results in bad publicity, and settling cases can cost a business dearly.
- McDonalds made headlines as hundreds of employees in 10 cities went on strike to draw attention to the issue of sexual harassment.[iii]
- A Texas-based casual dining chain will pay $450,000 to 15 individuals to settle an EEOC lawsuit.[iv]
- More than 60 women have filed sexual harassment complaints against IHOP, Applebee’s restaurants.[v]
Restaurant Opportunities Center United reported that a “sexualized environment” affects every relationship in a restaurant: regardless of gender, restaurant workers experience high levels of harassment from supervisors (66 percent), co-workers (80 percent), and customers (78 percent).[vi]
As a business owner, you can only take comfort if your staff are trained fairly. On-site training on a sensitive and important matter like sexual harassment prevention, abusive behavior, bullying, and sexual orientation can only be most effective with in-person training. Do you really believe that online training will address everyone’s concerns?
California Sexual Harassment Training
The volume of EEOC lawsuits and settlements speaks to the importance of comprehensive, immediate, sexual harassment training. It’s important that owners, managers, and employees, all understand what constitutes as sexual harassment, what does not, and what steps to take if one believes it’s occurred. Simply having and disseminating an anti-harassment policy does not satisfy federal prohibitions against sexual harassment.
An employer can be held legally responsible for the action of its employees. Trainings are a preventative measure and are much more affordable in terms of money and time than court. In addition to prevention, trainings serve as proof of your company’s commitment to prevent sexual harassment. If your company needs to defend itself in court, it is helpful to provide proof of training as a measure of good faith efforts to prevent sexual harassment.
It’s important to send the right message to your employees, to give them access to the right information, and take steps to protect your business now. The experts at Bridge Safety Consultants offer a comprehensive sexual harassment training that accomplish all three goals.
The statistics on sexual harassment within the restaurant industry are particularly startling when one considers the size of the industry; the restaurant industry employs nearly 11 million workers and is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy. It’s critical that businesses in this industry protect itself and its employees from sexual harassment. It’s very important that everyone at your business knows their rights and feels comfortable asking questions during our training. At Bridge Safety Consultants we’ll make sure attendees are actively engaged and participating so that we can inform every member of your company.
Our sexual harassment training can result in a number of benefits for a place of business and the individuals who work there, including, fostering a cultural ensuring that all employees feel safe at work and are treated with dignity and respect; complying with the Civil Rights Act and other laws addressing sexual harassment; and avoiding the legal and financial liability, as well as the negative publicity, that can result from sexual harassment claims.
Don’t wait. Book an on-site training with Bridge Safety Consultants now.
[i] https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2017/11/20/443139/not-just-rich-famous/
[ii] https://www.modernrestaurantmanagement.com/its-time-to-stamp-out-sexual-harassment-in-restaurants/
[iii] https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/one-year-of-metoo-a-modest-proposal-to-help-dismantle-the-restaurant-industrys-culture-of-sexual-harassment
[iv] https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/00010101/NEWS06/160229979/Restaurant-to-pay-$450,000-in-sexual-harassment-case
[v] https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/7/16739424/sexual-harassment-complaints-restaurant-ihop-applebees
[vi] The Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry