EEOC Sues Two New York Area Employers for Sexual Harassment

NEW YORK – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed lawsuits today against two New York employers charging the companies with allowing egregious sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Whether a restaurant, car dealership or other business, no employer should ignore sexual harassment, let alone condone or encourage it,” said Kimberly Cruz, regional attorney for the EEOC’s New York District Office. “The two lawsuits filed today serve as a stark reminder: if employers fail to protect their workers, the EEOC will hold them accountable.”

Today, the EEOC’s New York District filed:

• EEOC v. Garden City Jeep Chrysler Dodge, LLC and VIP Auto Group of Long Island, Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-06878 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. According to the lawsuit, Garden City Jeep Chrysler Dodge, LLC and its owner, VIP Auto Group of Long Island, Inc., allowed the inventory manager at their Long Island car dealership to touch and grab female employees’ breasts and backsides; run his hand down a female employee’s hair and back; regularly engage in sexual moaning and catcalling; and talk about female employees’ bodies and his own sex life. Managers regularly witnessed this harassment, and female employees repeatedly complained to management and human resources, but the harassment continued. Ultimately, the defendants’ failure to stop the harassment or terminate the inventory manager forced some female employees to resign.
• EEOC v. KTG Hospitality, LLC, Case No. 1:24-cv-07376 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Southern of New York. According to the lawsuit, kitchen workers and a manager at Wall Street Grill, a Manhattan restaurant, subjected a female pastry cook to constant sexual overtures, verbal abuse, and unwanted physical contact. Wall Street Grill’s executive chef regularly witnessed this conduct and did nothing to prevent it. Instead, he contributed to the hostile work environment by watching pornography with male kitchen staff. Among other incidents, in or around July 2022, colleagues left an object in the shape of male genitalia on the pastry chef’s workstation with a note stating, “this is for you, so that you can eat it.” No employees were disciplined as a result of the incident, and the harassment continued until the employee was forced to resign several weeks later.

The alleged conduct in both lawsuits violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination — including harassment — because of sex. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process in each of the cases.

Yaw Gyebi, Jr., director of the EEOC’s New York District said, “These lawsuits are the result of courageous employees refusing to accept sexual harassment and bringing it to the EEOC’s attention.”

In fiscal year 2023, the EEOC received more than 7,700 charges of sexual harassment in the nation’s workplaces, the highest number in 12 years and up nearly 25% from the previous year. Earlier in 2024, the EEOC released additional guidance on harassment with more than 70 examples, including online harassment.

For more information about the EEOC’s work to eradicate harassment in the workplace, please visit What You Should Know: EEOC Leads the Way in Preventing Workplace Harassment. Please also visit the EEOC’s website for more information about sex discrimination and harassment.

The EEOC’s New York District Office is responsible for addressing discrimination charges and conducting agency litigation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, northern New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.