Dive Brief:
- Teamlyders, LLC, and its affiliated businesses — franchisees of several Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan — allowed an area coach to sexually harass female employees, including underage workers, through sexual comments and unwanted touching, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed Feb. 28.
- According to court documents, after receiving complaints from workers, an HR manager in early June 2022 interviewed four female employees who confirmed harassing conduct from the area coach. However, the HR manager did not take action until late August of that year, when the alleged harasser was fired for “improper cash handling” and “inappropriate physical contact with another employee,” EEOC alleged.
- Additionally, EEOC alleged, Teamlyders retaliated against an assistant general manager when it fired her the same day she reported harassment of her female crew members. Teamlyders did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dive Insight:
While Teamlyder’s HR responded appropriately to complaints by apparently starting an investigation and interviewing those who made complaints, EEOC alleged that it failed to “take prompt and remedial action” by waiting more than two months to fire the worker, and allowing him to continue to work and sexually harass employees in the interim.
How prompt is prompt? While the law has not outlined a precise timeline, EEOC, in its 2024 enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace, attempted to provide greater clarification. It noted that an employer who opens an investigation one day after a complaint is made has acted promptly, while one who waits two months “very likely has not acted promptly.”
“In many instances, what is ‘reasonably soon’ is fact-sensitive and depends on such considerations as the nature and severity of the alleged harassment and the reasons for delay,” EEOC explained. “For example, when faced with allegations of physical touching, an employer that, without explanation, does nothing for two weeks likely has not acted promptly.”
In the case of Teamlyders, the allegations of unwanted physical contact and involvement of minor employees likely contributed to EEOC’s assessment the action was not prompt.
The lawsuit is among the first filed following the installment of EEOC commissioner Andrea Lucas as acting chair following President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Lucas emphasized the EEOC’s mission of “protecting women from sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination in the workplace” in a January news release, although she heavily focused on removing gender identity protections from EEOC’s approach.
