Franchise Management, LLC to Pay $150,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

SALT LAKE CITY – Franchise Management, LLC, a company operating over 20 Subway stores within Utah, will pay $150,000 and provide other equitable relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, a male district manager who oversaw several Subway locations sexually harassed a teenage male worker, culminating in forcible sexual abuse. For months, the manager made sexual comments to the teenager, including asking him for pictures in his underwear, and trying to discuss sexual preferences, sexual experiences and pornography with him. The manager also sent the teenager pictures of the manager in his underwear. The harassment culminated in the manager sexually abusing the teenager twice during a work shift in September 2020.

“Employers have an obligation to protect their employees from sexual harassment occurring on their watch,” said Mary O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. “When employers hire younger workers early in their careers, they must provide proper training so employees can recognize and report sexual harassment, allowing employers to investigate, address, and stop misconduct promptly. We are pleased Franchise Management worked cooperatively with the EEOC early in this litigation to resolve the case, and the EEOC will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws against sexual harassment.”

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment, including same-sex sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Franchise Management, LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-000392) in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

EEOC Phoenix District Director Melinda Caraballo said, “As frequent employers of young people, fast food businesses must have strong systems in place to ensure teenage workers are not sexually harassed by older managers, and that employees new to the workforce understand their rights. We are pleased that Franchise Management recognizes this and has strengthened its policies to prevent such harassment in the future.”

In addition to the monetary relief, the three-year consent decree settling the suit requires Franchise Management to review and revise its harassment policies; provide a letter of apology to the male employee; train all employees and managers on sexual harassment and Title VII; maintain its surveillance cameras to help protect employees from harassment; and provide reports of training, complaints and policy modifications to the EEOC.

For more information on sexual harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment. The EEOC’s Youth@Work website (https://www.eeoc.gov/youth/) presents information for teens and other young workers about employment discrimination, including curriculum guides for students and teachers and videos to help young workers learn about their rights and responsibilities.

The EEOC’s Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and part of New Mexico.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.