Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—$1.5M settles sexual harassment suits; new suits allege disability, religious, race discrimination, (Apr 1, 2026)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“Sexual harassment in the restaurant and food service industries is a widespread problem the EEOC seeks to address.”

The EEOC separately announced the settlement of sexual harassment lawsuits against employers in Texas and California, for $35,000 and $1.49 million, respectively. The federal agency also filed new lawsuits against employers in Illinois, Indiana, and Maryland, raising claims of religious, disability, and race discrimination, respectively. The EEOC alleged unlawful retaliation in each of the new cases.

Sexual harassment by supervisor after romantic relationship ended. Ayvaz Pizza, LLC, dba Pizza Hut, will pay $35,000 and furnish other relief to settle allegation that the company, which operates more than 350 Pizza Hut restaurants around the country, violated Title VII when it permitted a former female assistant manager of a restaurant in Porter, Texas, to be subjected to a hostile work environment by her supervisor after she broke off their romantic relationship. In October 2022, she complained of the harassment to the restaurant’s operations manager and HR department. Two weeks after her complaint, and despite having no negative disciplinary marks on her record, she was allegedly fired and given seven write-ups on the day of her termination.

The two-year consent decree resolving the case, in addition to the monetary relief for the aggrieved worker, also requires Ayvaz Pizza to provide the worker a letter of reference; update and disseminate its antidiscrimination policies; provide comprehensive antidiscrimination training to its staff; and report sex-based discrimination and harassment complaints to the EEOC.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas; the case is No. 4:24-cv-04876.

Female employees sexually harassed by male supervisors, coworkers, customers. Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC, a Paso Robles, California, winery with a Michelin-starred restaurant, tasting rooms, and accommodations, and global food and beverage company The Wonderful Company LLC, will pay $1.49 million and provide other relief to settle allegations that they violated Title VII when they allowed a class of female employees to be subjected to sexual harassment by male supervisors, coworkers, and customers. The EEOC contended that since at least August 2017, the companies failed to properly handle complaints, leaving employees vulnerable to ongoing harassment that included recurring, frequent, and offensive sex-based remarks, advances, and unwelcome touching. As a result of this hostile work environment, employees complained and were then subjected to retaliation or forced to quit their jobs, according to the federal agency.

“Sexual harassment in the restaurant and food service industries is a widespread problem the EEOC seeks to address,” said EEOC District Directory Christine Park-Gonzalez. “We commend employees for speaking up about mistreatment in the workplace.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Central District of California; the case is No. 2:22-cv-06039.

Religious accommodation from vax mandate denied. Silver Cross Hospital, based in New Lenox, Illinois, violated Title VII when it failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee who asked to be exempt from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine because of her religious beliefs, according to an EEOC lawsuit. Allegedly, a certified surgical technologist first requested a religious accommodation from the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in August 2021 because of her Christian beliefs. The hospital purportedly denied her accommodation, and retaliated by terminating her employment in November 2021, even though she could have been accommodated without undue hardship, the EEOC said.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois; the case is No. 1:26-cv-3343.

Refused to hire deaf applicants. The EEOC contends in a lawsuit that Damar Services, Inc., violated the ADA when the Indianapolis-based residential services provider for individuals with developmental disabilities refused to hire a deaf applicant. The employer allegedly applied hiring standards to screen out applicants with hearing and vision disabilities and made prohibited disability-related inquiries. In March 2023, the company conducted a phone interview with an applicant for a housekeeping position. When Damar learned of the applicant’s deafness during that interview, it purportedly told him it could not accommodate his disability and rejected him, despite his ability to perform the job with or without reasonable accommodation. The company’s interview questions also included prohibited medical inquires, and its qualification standards required applicants to hear and see within normal ranges and communicate verbally, according to the EEOC.

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division; the case is No. 1:26-cv-00575-MPB-KMB.

Manager racially harassed black salesmen. Ourisman Edgewood I, Inc., t/a Ourisman Toyota 40, and parent company Ourisman Cars Management Company, LLC, which owns 50 car dealerships, violated Title VII by failing to take effective remedial action in response to the racial harassment of car salesmen, according to an EEOC lawsuit. After a finance manager at the Edgewood, Maryland, dealership called a black car salesman “boy” in February 2023, the salesman complained to the dealership’s management. Purportedly, despite counseling by dealership management, the finance manager again referred to the salesman as “boy.” The salesman complained to management again, but days later the finance manager allegedly used the term “boy” to address a group of black salesmen. The EEOC said that when the black salesmen protested the finance manager’s repeated use of the term “boy” to refer to black men, the finance manager responded, “good night [the N-word]s!” The company did not remove the finance manager from his position or impose another serious consequence. As a result, two of the salesmen felt compelled to leave their jobs, according to the lawsuit.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Maryland; the case is No. 1:26-cv-01233.

Companies: Ayvaz Pizza, LLC; Pizza Hut; Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC; The Wonderful Company LLC; Silver Cross Hospital; Damar Services, Inc.; Ourisman Edgewood I, Inc. Ourisman Toyota 40; Ourisman Cars Management Company, LLC

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