Bouchon and Thomas Keller Restaurant Group to Pay $2 Million in EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

LAS VEGAS — KVP, LP, doing business as Bouchon Restaurant, a Las Vegas upscale casual dining restaurant, and KRM, Inc., doing business as Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, a Yountville, California-based company, which operates other restaurants, will pay $2,000,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since at least 2018, male supervisors and coworkers at Bouchon in Las Vegas subjected female and male employees to sexual harassment, including unwanted and repeated sexual advances, sexual comments, sexually offensive conduct and unwelcome physical contact. The suit also alleged that Bouchon and Thomas Keller Restaurant Group failed to take appropriate action to prevent sexual harassment despite receiving complaints, and subjected some employees to retaliation for complaining, leaving employees vulnerable to ongoing harassment at their Las Vegas location.

“Sexual harassment is illegal and continues to be a problem in the restaurant industry,” said Beatriz Andre, acting regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District, which includes Las Vegas in its jurisdiction. “As it did in this action, the EEOC will continue to enforce federal law.”

The alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment, as well as retaliation against individuals who complain about sexual harassment or engage in other protected activity. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. KVP, LP dba Bouchon Restaurant, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-01308) in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“The EEOC will continue its efforts to stop and eradicate workplace sexual harassment in the restaurant and hospitality business and protect an individual’s right to oppose discrimination by reporting inappropriate conduct,” said EEOC Las Vegas Local Office Director Michael Mendoza.

For more information on sexual harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment. For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office has jurisdiction over central and southern California, southern Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Wake Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands with offices in Los Angeles, Fresno, Las Vegas, San Diego and Honolulu.

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.