Dive Brief:
- A former Chuck E. Cheese employee in West Virginia is suing CEC Entertainment after a store manager allegedly sexually harassed her, according to a suit filed in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
- The worker, who was 17 at the start of the alleged harassment, claims that she was first harassed by a coworker, who propositioned her. When she reported the incident to her manager, the manager harassed her as well.
- The plaintiff sued under the West Virginia Human Rights Act, seeking remedies under that law and state tort law, as well as punitive damages. The suit does not specify how much money the plaintiff is seeking.
Dive Insight:
The suit claims CEC Entertainment is liable for the alleged conduct of Ryan Slade, the manager named in the suit, as he was acting as the plaintiff’s supervisor. Additionally, the suit said, the company either knew or should have known about Slade’s conduct “but failed to take swift and corrective action to prevent further harassment.”
Perthe complaint, Slade allegedly told the plaintiff that the coworker who initially harassed her “is not the only one who wants to sleep with you.” The suit alleges Slade stared at the plaintiff, asked her to stay late so he could continue looking at her, touched her inappropriately, followed her into a parking lot after a shift and attempted to manipulate the worker into liking him, among other harassing acts. The harassment began in 2022 and lasted into the summer of 2023.
Slade also allegedly referred to women he supervised as bitches. According to the suit, the plaintiff quit her job as a result of Slade’s actions.
Chuck E. Cheese declined to comment.
“Our client was a teenager when she was subjected to egregious behavior at Chuck E. Cheese, a place that markets itself as a fun, family-friendly environment. Workplace sexual harassment should not be tolerated in this or any other setting,” Todd Bailess of Bailess Law Firm, which represents the plaintiff, wrote in a statement emailed to Restaurant Dive.
Bailess Law Firm handled a similar case earlier this year in which a Taco Bell franchisee allegedly permitted a registered sex offender acting as a shift supervisor to harass two female employees.
Teenaged workers who were allegedly sexually assaulted or harassed at restaurants have filed a series of lawsuits against major brands and operators recently. In March, a worker in North Dakota sued Subway and a franchisee for $50 million after she was drugged and sexually assaulted by a manager who was a convicted sex offender; that case is still ongoing. That same month, Bailess’ firm took on the aforementioned Taco Bell case. Earlier this year, McDonald’s franchisee Rice Enterprises settled a case for $4.35 million after a manager raped a minor employed by the restaurant.
Sexual harassment and violence is a major problem in the restaurant industry. One recent survey of Maryland restaurant workers conducted by One Fair Wage, found 47% of restaurant workers experienced sexual harassment.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the timing of the Rice Enterprise settlement. The McDonald’s franchisee settled the suit against it in 2024.
