PRESS RELEASE
11-23-09

우리가 흔히 가서 먹는 Pancake House IHOP의 EEOC Sexual Harassment Case입니다.

10대의 2명의 Waitress들과 Assistant  Manager사이에서 발생된 건으로, 희생자의 complaint 가 충분하지 않았던 case 였지만, 이를 근거로 terminate되었던 waitress는 벌과금조로 $100,000의 배상금과 $4000의 보상액이 정해졌고, 이 사건에 비하여 미미하였던 다른 한명에게는 $1000의 보상액이 최종판결로 나왔습니다. 2006년도에 발생되어 claim이 들어와서 3여년이 걸쳐 치열하게 싸운 결과,  2009년 11월에 최종 판결이 나왔지만, IHOP이 Appeal를 결정했기 때문에, 또 얼마나 오랜시간 더 기나긴 법적공방을 계속할지는 모르겠습니다.

이상의 Case와 마찬가지로, 일단 법적 소송건으로 번진다면, 이로 인한 변호사 비용, 각종 court에 끌려 다녀야 하는 시간들, 회사의 이미지 실추등, 여러가지 많은 요인들을 생각한다면, 보다 철저한 준비와 실행, complaint가 들어왔을때 얼마나 철저하게 신속하게 해결해 주느냐가 관점이라고 하겠습니다.

유비무환!! 잘 준비하시어 크고작은 법적소송에서 벗어나심으로, 정말 중요한 기업으로서의 이윤 활동에 전념하시어 꼭 성공하시기를 바랍니다.

Federal Jury Awards $105,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Case Against Racine IHOP

Verdict for Federal Agency on Behalf of Two Teenaged Servers Who Were Verbally and Physically Harassed

MILWAUKEE – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that a federal jury in Milwaukee has returned a $105,000 verdict following a four-day sexual harassment trial in a sexual harassment case brought by the agency.

The jury’s verdict awarded an aggregate of $5,000 to two teenagers who worked at a Racine, Wis., IHOP restaurant who, the EEOC alleged, were sexually harassed by their assistant manager, who subjected them to sexual propositions, groping and hair-pulling. In addition, the jury found that the IHOP had acted recklessly with respect to one of the servers and awarded her $100,000 in punitive damages. The EEOC said that punitive damages may be awarded by juries to punish such conduct and to discourage it in the future.

The IHOP at which the servers worked, and where they were harassed, was owned by Salauddin Janmohammed, and managed by a management consulting firm, Flipmeastack, owned by his wife. In defending the case, the IHOP contended that the restaurant had a strong policy against sexual harassment and that the victim’s complaints about the harassment were not sufficient -- defenses which the jury apparently rejected.

The case, captioned EEOC v. Management Hospitality of Racine, Inc.; Flipmeastack, Inc. and Salauddin Janmohammed, E.D. Wis. No. 06-C-0715, was filed by the EEOC in 2006, and presided over by Judge Lynn Adelman. Management Hospitality of Racine was one of approximately 20 IHOP restaurants located in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa owned by Janmohammed, and managed by Flipmeastack. The jury returned its verdict on Thursday, November 19.

The EEOC was represented at trial by Trial Attorneys Brain Tyndall of Milwaukee and Nicholas Pladson of Minneapolis, under the supervision of EEOC Chicago District Associate Regional Attorney Jean Kamp.

Regional Attorney John C. Hendrickson of the EEOC’s Chicago District said, “The trial and the verdict in this case should send a couple of very clear signals. The first is that, although the EEOC resolves many cases by consent decree, we are always ready to take cases to trial. The second is that when we do take sexual harassment cases to trial, juries do not shy away from requiring employers to pay large damage awards.”

EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Brian Tyndall added, “We’re proud to have worked with the two women in this case, who were teenagers at the time of the harassment. It’s never easy to stand up in the face or harassment, especially if you’re young and you really need your job. Nor is it easy to go through the rigors of litigation for a period of years. But these women did that, and because of them and this case, women will have more equal opportunity while working at IHOP and elsewhere in the restaurant industry in Wisconsin.”

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.

The EEOC Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

Resources: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-23-09.cfm