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ICYMI: Florida man wins in lawsuit over homophobic and racist workplace abuse at Applebee's [1]

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Date: 2022-07-17

Jebriel Teague was a line cook for an Applebee’s restaurant in Plant City, Florida, beginning his job back in March of 2019. As a gay black man, he has been subjected to rampant racism and homophobia by co-workers.

14. While working at Applebee’s, Mr. Teague experienced frequent harassment about his sexual orientation by co-workers, including Cody Curby and Bobby Hogge. 15. The harassment included, but was not limited to, the following: a. Saying “anal beads” to Mr. Teague on a near daily basis; b. Using the terms “fag,” “faggot,” and “bitch” on a frequent basis; c. Making inappropriate jokes about Mr. Teague’s sexual orientation; and d. Making comments about dildos. [...] 16. Mr. Teague also experienced frequent racial harassment by Curby and Hogge. The harassment included, but was not limited to, the following: a. Co-worker(s) using the n-word openly and nonchalantly; and b. Cody Curby wore a Confederate flag hat “all the time” at work. 17. In fact, Mr. Teague repeatedly heard the n-word throughout his employment.

x Bobby Hogge's FB page. pic.twitter.com/dzq6T0rEAc — chris evans (@notcapnamerica) July 14, 2022

Teague has tried to contact management to speak about the abuse he has faced, but they have treated these incidents as little more than a small, harmless joke. As the harassment continued, Teague has spoken to management once again, but management have decided to cut his hours by at least 50 per cent. Teague wanted to work more hours, but management told him that “there were no more hours for him”. Eventually, he decided to quit his job, about three months after he started working as a line cook.

About two years later, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) would sue Neighborhood Restaurant Partners Florida, LLC dba Applebee’s after Jebriel Teague filed a complaint with them. The EEOC stated that the hostile work environment Teague faced was a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. Neighborhood Restaurant Partners Florida, LLC, Case No. 8:21-cv-01931-VMC-JSS) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. “Over one year ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to individuals who are discriminated in the workplace based on their sexual orientation,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Robert E. Weisberg. “While the EEOC recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Bostock decision, this case demonstrates that the work is not over. The EEOC will aggressively investigate, and, if necessary, prosecute employers that violate the rights of their LGBTQ employees.”

Finally, this month, the franchisee now not only has to pay Teague $100,000, but they will have to take urgent action to reduce discrimination against race and sexual orientation.

The three-year consent decree resolving the EEOC’s lawsuit, approved by the federal court, requires NRP to pay $100,000 in monetary relief. The company will also provide specialized training on sexual orientation and race discrimination to human resources officers and managers to ensure they are aware of their obligations to prevent workplace discrimination and how to address complaints. The decree also requires NRP to appoint an internal consent decree monitor to review complaints of sexual orientation and race-based harassment and provide EEOC with reports of harassment complaints which also describe its actions taken in response to the complaint.

Pamela Jones, the vice president of marketing at Neighborhood Restaurant Partners Florida, LLC, states that the franchisee is “committed to maintaining a safe and inclusive environment for all”. Jones says that this “isolated incident” will be used as a “learning opportunity” to guarantee that the restaurants are “a place where all feel welcome and respected”.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/17/2110984/-ICYMI-Florida-man-wins-lawsuit-over-homophobic-and-racist-workplace-abuse-at-Applebee-s

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