GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A Grand Rapids law firm says a federal sexual harassment lawsuit has been filed by three local women against a Grand Rapids restaurant.
Katherine Smith Kennedy of Pinsky, Smith, Fayette & Kennedy LLP filed the suit against Restaurant Partners, Inc., which owns and operates the Grand Coney restaurant at 401 28th Street SE.
The lawsuit says that the three women waited tables at the restaurant and the harassment allegedly came from the same manager at the restaurant. They allege that the manager assaulted all three throughout various shifts, even though they tried to avoid him and reported him to district managers. They allege that he repeatedly said sexually inappropriate and sometimes racially harassing things to them and texted lewd pictures to more than one waitress and then had them delete the photos when they came to work.
The lawsuit alleges that the instances of harassment happened in front of other managers and upper management and management refused to stop it. The suit also alleges that one male manager did go to upper management to get the harassment to stop, but was not successful.
All three women left their jobs at Grand Coney. The complaint asks for compensation for lost wages, mental anguish and emotional distress. The attorney in the suit also says the jury will have the chance to punish the restaurant for ignoring the complaints.
You can see the complaint here.
Coney Partners LLC released a statement Wednesday afternoon regarding the lawsuit:Coney Partners LLC was made aware today of a lawsuit filed by three former employees alleging harassment by a former shift manager. The company prides itself on its positive relationships with its employees and the community. Coney Partners LLC denies the allegations against the company and plans to defend itself vigorously.
We’ll have more details on later editions of FOX 17 News.
