The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against a Woodbridge restaurant over the owner’s treatment of a Black general manager, including allegations that the owner referred to his GM with the n-word epithet.
The suit, filed on Thursday, against Epiq Food Hall Woodbridge LLC, alleges that the owner subjected a Black general manager to numerous derogatory racial comments, telling him that he “look[ed] like [he] spoke thug language” and referring to him as the n-word, made frequent disparaging remarks about Black customers and employees – calling them “not smart,” “ignorant,” “ghetto,” and “riff-raff,” and canceled live music and karaoke events that attracted predominately Black patrons.
Because of the persistent racism and lack of a complaint procedure or a human resources department, the general manager was forced to resign, the suit alleges.
“Federal law ensures that no one has to endure racial slurs from their boss in order to make a living and holds employers automatically liable for the harassing conduct of their owners,” said Debra M. Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District. “The EEOC is committed to addressing all forms of unlawful harassment in the restaurant industry, where it continues to occur all too frequently.”
The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process, according to a release.
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Chris Graham
