Il Fornaio to Pay $3 Million in EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

Restaurant chain settles federal lawsuit alleging it created a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against female employees, including teens

LOS ANGELES — Il Fornaio (America) LLC, an Italian restaurant chain with 15 locations in California and Nevada, will pay $3,000,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a class of female employees, the agency announced today.

According to the suit, supervisors and employees across Il Fornaio’s restaurant locations repeatedly subjected female employees, many of whom were teenagers, to sexual harassment. The harassment included forceful groping in restaurant bathrooms, multiple instances of grabbing female employees’ private parts, requests for sexual favors, and explicit references to sexual activities. The female employees complained about the harassment, but Il Fornaio failed to stop it and retaliated against many of the female employees. As a result, several female employees had no choice but to resign.

“Sexual harassment continues to be a widespread issue in the restaurant industry, and during this case, we learned of at least 100 women negatively affected by Il Fornaio’s work environment,” said Beatriz B. Andre, acting regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District. “Through this settlement, we hope Il Fornaio will take meaningful steps to prevent sexual harassment and respond promptly and effectively when complaints arise.”

The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits a hostile workplace environment 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. Il Fornaio (America) LLC, et al. Case No. 2:22-cv-05992) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

Christine Park-Gonzalez, director of the EEOC’s Los Angeles District said, “The EEOC will continue to stamp out workplace sexual harassment wherever it occurs. We are thankful to the women who came forward and courageously shared their stories so that the EEOC could work towards bringing Il Fornaio into compliance with Title VII.”

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

For more information on the EEOC’s Youth@Work initiative, including educational resources for young workers, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/youth.

The EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office is responsible for addressing discrimination charges and conducting agency litigation in 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.