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Lawsuit: Teen Freehold Chili Workers Say Male Coworkers Sexually Harassed Them Daily

A pair of former Chili's Bar & Grill employees say they were sexually harassed by male coworkers regularly at the Freehold restaurant and management ignored their complaints.

Chili's on Route 9 in Freehold

Chili's on Route 9 in Freehold

Photo Credit: Google Maps

Filed in Monmouth County Superior Court, the discrimination suit alleges the males "groped, touched and ogled" the teens daily during their shifts this year and last year at the Route 9 restaurant. 

The teens tried reporting the incidents to the general manager, who did not act on the complaints, the teen's lawyer John C. Luke said.

“The two then teenaged employees of Chili’s faced a near daily sexually hostile work environment from their co-workers," NJ.com reports citing Luke.

"None of the behavior came to an end after multiple complaints of discrimination to management.

"They came forward because they don’t want any other co-workers and in particular young women to have to work in that type of environment. They felt that they had to speak up for others like themselves.”

The suit names Texas hospitality company Brinker International. Company officials did not respond to request for comment by NJ.com.

The teens are alleging gender discrimination and retaliation under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination, LAD.

The harassment happened on multiple occasions, the suit says. Once, one of the teens walked into the kitchen to fill an orange juicy container, when one of the men pulled her pants down and groped her, the suit says.

The other alleged victim says when a staff member asked her to perform a sex act on him, she wrote the incident in a Chili's manager log for the regional manager, according to the suit.

But the store's general manager was on vacation at the time, and told managers not to log anything while she was away so that she wouldn't get in trouble for failing to properly manage the restaurant, according to the lawsuit.

Both alleged victims left their jobs due to the incessant harassment, the suit says.

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