EEOC Sues Del Taco in California for Sexual Harassment, Retaliation

Fast food chain Del Taco violated federal law when at least three male employees, including those in supervisory roles, sexually harassed and retaliated against a group of young female workers at a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Del Taco, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced in a lawsuit filed last month.

According to the EEOC, supervisory officials harassed female staff, most of them teenagers, with inappropriate sexual comments and unwanted physical touching.

Some of the young women made formal complaints to management, human resources and the EEOC, but no corrective action was taken by the company. Instead, the company retaliated against those who complained by changing their schedules and reducing their working hours, the EEOC contends.

According to the EEOC, these actions created a hostile work environment and the women felt they had no choice but to resign.

According the company’s website, www.deltaco.com, the chain operates in 15 states and has 310 corporate locations, along with 241 franchise locations. The majority of its restaurants are in the West Coast states.