Tavern on Green Accused of Abuse
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Tavern on the Green, one of New York’s most popular restaurants, has violated federal law for at least eight years by sexually and racially harassing its employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged today.
In a federal lawsuit, the EEOC accused the restaurant’s managers and non-managerial employees of targeting black and Hispanic women, including a black hostess who said managers repeatedly groped her and made derogatory racial comments.
The lawsuit demanded that the court order the behavior stopped and that victimized employees be compensated with unspecified damages, including back pay and reinstatement in some instances.
A lawyer for the restaurant, Mara Levin, said in a statement that Tavern on the Green complies with all anti-discrimination and sexual harassment laws and will “vigorously defend this action.”
She said the restaurant conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations when they were first made some time ago and found them “entirely devoid of merit.”
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a hostess at the Central Park landmark for the past four years, Martha Nyakim Gatkuoth, and other unidentified employees who it said have faced harassment.
It said the restaurant’s former director of operations had harassed Ms. Gatkuoth, demanding she engage in sexual acts with him and repeatedly touched and grabbing of her buttocks and breasts.
The lawsuit also said the former director repeatedly used racially derogatory language to refer to her and other black female employees.
Ms. Levin said criminal charges against that manager — who has not worked at the restaurant for two years — were dismissed after prosecutors concluded the charges had no merit and that Ms. Gatkuoth was not credible.
An EEOC lawyer, Kam Wong, said today, “We absolutely find her to be credible, as well as other individuals victimized by the harassment.”
The lawsuit said the restaurant “knew or should have known of the severe and pervasive harassment, yet failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly the harassing behavior.”
The harassment extended to retaliation against employees who refused to consent to the harassment or objected to it, the lawsuit said. Those employees were denied additional work, lucrative assignments and had their pay reduced, it said.
On its Web site, Tavern on the Green boasts that it provides “one of New York’s most dazzling dining experiences,” making it the highest-grossing independently owned restaurant in America with over half a million visitors and $34 million in annual revenues.