DAVENPORT, Iowa — This week, the owners of Los Agaves in Davenport are facing a Title VII lawsuit after former employees have stepped forward.
In the lawsuit, the prosecution claims restaurant management and owners were creating a hostile work environment that was allegedly meant to suppress women since at least 2016.
Female workers in the suit claim that during their employment at the restaurant, they were repeatedly abused in a physical or sexual manner, claiming they were grabbed in sexual ways or tried to kiss without consent.
When these employees went to report their experiences with management they were told to keep quiet. An example the suit outlines is when one employee reported their experiences to a manager they were told the employee would be "reported to the immigration authorities if further reports were made," according to court documents.
Other employees were also expected to stay silent when issues of abuse or obscene actions happened to them, and if they made a report were threatened into silence.
Some claims in the lawsuit say:
These practices included, but were not limited to, subjecting Aggrieved Individuals to harassment based on sex, including repeated physical abuse and/or unwanted sexual comments. For example, employees exposed their genitals, grabbed women’s bodies in a sexual manner, attempted to kiss them, propositioned them for sex, and subjected them to lewd and offensive jokes, all of which was unwelcome. Defendant’s managers also viewed pornography in the workplace with the volume turned up.
The lawsuit requests that all current employees and owners of the restaurant be placed on an injunction, and are requesting that the owners provide backpay or other affirmative relief to any of the defendants.
Currently, the defense is requesting a jury trial to establish the facts and to determine equitable relief for the defendants.
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