Chipotle Mexican Grill is a popular fast food restaurant with many locations in New York City. On Dec. 3, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that the company agreed to pay $95,000 to a former employee who alleges that he was sexually harassed by his female boss.
In his 2017 sexual harassment lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that the general manager of a San Jose, California, Chipotle restaurant acted inappropriately, creating a hostile work environment where his co-workers joined in on the harassment. The plaintiff, then 22 years old, was touched inappropriately and propositioned by his boss. When he complained about the treatment, the man claims that his coworkers ostracized him. The man’s co-workers locked him in a walk-in freezer on one occasion, and also moved his motorcycle on another day.
According to court documents, the Chipotle manager asked employees regularly whether they had had sex the night before and kept a ‘scoreboard” of their answers in her office. She also allegedly sent Instagram messages to employees with pictures of herself wearing nothing but underwear. When the sexual harassment complaints were discussed in a meeting, the general manager reportedly screamed at the plaintiff. On another occasion, the plaintiff says the manager used a pan to hit him over the head.
Sexual harassment is a problem that can negatively impact men in the workplace, whether the harassment comes from a male or a female superior. According to the EEOC, male workers file about 15 percent of all sexual harassment complaints in the United States. Regardless of their gender, victims of this type of behavior might want to discuss their situations with an attorney.
