Amerigo Italian Restaurant owners to pay $60K in discrimination suit
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The owners of the Amerigo Italian Restaurant will pay $60,000 and other relief to settle a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.
The EEOC lawsuit comes after a gay employee at the Memphis restaurant was allegedly put in a hostile work environment and discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
Reports state the employee was then fired for complaining about the abusive work environment.
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A two-year-consent decree settling the lawsuit requires Amerigo’s owner companies to revise and distribute their anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies, post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement, and provide specialized training to all supervisors, managers, and employees.
The company also has to provide reports about any future employee complaints of sexual harassment or retaliation.
J.H.S. Holdings, LLC, and 4Top Hospitality Group, Inc., own the Memphis restaurant, according to the EEOC.
4Top Hospitality sent a statement in response, denying wrongdoing:
“Amerigo has and will continue to promote a robust policy of inclusion for all communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, and is welcoming of all applicants and employees who want to be part of our team. As an employee-owned company that is committed to the needs of every staff member, Amerigo has always maintained and promoted an open-door policy of reporting any concerns among our staff. We will continue to do so through our ongoing zero-tolerance policy on discrimination and harassment, as well as annualized training to foster an inclusive, healthy, productive and professional workplace providing a comfortable dining experience to our guests. While we adamantly deny any wrongdoing, we are pleased to have resolved the unjustifiable and categorically false claims brought against us in this matter.”
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