Swami’s Café and Honey’s Bistro Pay $650,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

ENCINITAS, Calif. – Swami’s Café, a chain of casual breakfast and lunch service restaurants in San Diego County, and the casual restaurant Honey’s Bistro will pay $650,000 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 young women, the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, beginning as early as 2019, nine locations of the San Diego-based Swami’s Café and Honey’s Bistro allegedly allowed a class of young female employees, including some teenagers, to be subjected to sexual harassment by male supervisors and co-workers. The EEOC charged that Swami’s Café and Honey’s Bistro did not properly monitor the workplace, which left the employees vulnerable to ongoing harassment. The alleged harassment included repeated, frequent and offensive sex-based remarks and advances, as well as unwelcome touching. As a result of this hostile work environment, female employees complained and were then subjected to retaliation or forced to quit their jobs, the EEOC said.

“We continue to see young women experience sexual harassment in the restaurant industry, often during their first job experience,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, whose jurisdiction includes San Diego County. “Employers have a duty to protect young workers by putting in place strong policies and procedures that ensure managers and supervisors are held accountable for maintaining a safe and respectful workplace.”

Such 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. Swami’s 101 LLC, et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-00902-LAB-NLS) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks entered and approved the consent decree settling the suit on Dec. 1. In addition to the $650,000 in monetary relief in the consent decree, Swami’s Café and Honey Bistro will retain an equal employment opportunity (EEO) monitor, establish a complaint procedure and a toll-free complaint hotline, and ensure strong policies and procedures are in place for reporting and handling discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Additionally, the company will put in place mandatory training for supervisors and non-supervisory personnel; assess supervisory performance based on EEO compliance; maintain records; complete audits; and post notice of this settlement. The company shall also remove any negative references to the harassment, discrimination and retaliation from the employees’ personnel files and offer the individuals who were fired or quit the opportunity to be reinstated, if they so choose.

The court will maintain jurisdiction over this case for the decree’s two-year term.

Jacquelyn Famber, director of the EEOC’s San Diego office, added, “We commend these young women for their bravery in coming forward, asserting their rights, and giving a voice to others. The injunctive relief in this decree is an excellent step forward for Swami’s Café and Honey Bistro, and it would behoove other employers to take note of the relief furnished in this case and implement similar changes as necessary.”

To learn more about sexual harassment, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment. For more information about workplace retaliation, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Youth@Work website has 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 Los Angeles District includes 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.

If you believe you have been discriminated against at work, please contact the EEOC at 800-669-4000.

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 is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. 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.