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According to the EEOC’s suit, the owners of the Colony Diner, located in East Meadow, cousins George and Thomas Strifas, "created, encouraged and tolerated a work environment in which female servers and hostesses experienced unwelcome verbal commentary and physical touching on a daily basis."
Women who objected to the harassment, from the owners and other male employees, were assigned to sections of the restaurant in which they earned very few tips in retaliation for their complaints, the EEOC said.
Because the unlawful environment was condoned by management, the women had nowhere else to turn and were forced to either endure the harassment or leave their employment, the EEOC said.
A number of women resigned rather than put up with the sexual harassment.
“Once an employer becomes aware of workplace harassment, the law requires that it investigate and take prompt corrective action to stop the unlawful conduct,” said Judy Keenan, the EEOC’s New York District director. “That includes sexual harassment as well as derogatory remarks based on an employee’s sex.”
Jeffrey Burstein, regional attorney for the EEOC’s New York District Office, when the owner, CEO, or president of a company is proven to have created a hostile work environment, the company will almost always be liable.
The women involved with the lawsuit were or continue to be employed as servers or hostesses from May 2015 to the current employees.
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