Black Applebee’s cook harassed by Florida coworker wearing Confederate flag hat, feds say

A Black and gay Applebee’s line cook experienced constant racist and homophobic harassment from two co-workers — including one who would wear a Confederate flag hat “all the time” at work, federal labor officals said.

The local Applebee’s franchisee’s management told the former cook to “ignore” his co-workers’ frequent use of slurs, such as the “n-word,” and “innapropriate jokes” about his sexual orientation, according to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed against the company.

Ultimately, the repeated harassment “forced” him to quit after management cut his hours following his complaints, a July 11 EEOC news release said.

Now Neighborhood Restaurant Partners Florida, LLC, which runs, owns and operates the Applebee’s location in Plant City, is paying $100,000 to settle the EEOC lawsuit involving the allegations of race and sexual orientation discrimination that took place there, according to the release.

Pamela Jones, the vice president of marketing at NRP LLC, told McClatchy News in a statement that the company is “committed to maintaining a safe and inclusive environment for all.”

“We have used this isolated incident as a learning opportunity and will make training available to ensure that our restaurants are a place where all feel welcome and respected.”

Also as part of the settlement, the company will train managers and human resources offers on sexual orientation and race discrimination “to ensure they are aware of their obligations to prevent workplace discrimination and how to address complaints.”

“Failing to take corrective action to correct a work environment permeated with racial and homophobic slurs, and, even worse, punishing an employee for reporting harassment, will not be tolerated,” EEOC regional attorney Robert E. Weisberg said in a statement.

In March 2019, the former line cook began working at Applebee’s in Plant City and took roughly five to six shifts weekly, according to a complaint.

Over the next several months, he worked in a “hostile” environment with the two co-workers who would issue offensive slurs loud enough for him to hear before he quit in June 2019, the complaint states.

He “repeatedly heard the n-word throughout his employment,” according to the EEOC.

After complaining, management told the former worker that his co-workers were “just joking around,” but the “harassment continued,” according to the lawsuit.

The store manager “purportedly conducted an investigation” into the alleged harassment that Applebee’s has no record of, the complaint said.

The line cook tried discussing the issue with NRP’s corporate offices but his hours were cut by more than 50%, according to the EEOC.

When he asked for more hours, he was told there was “no more” for him and he quit, the complaint states.

The EEOC’s lawsuit accuses the Plant City Applebee’s location of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protects employees from discrimination relating to race, sexual orientation and more, the release said.

The two workers accused of harassing the former Applebee’s cook, and the store manager named in the complaint, no longer work for the NRP LLC franchisee, an Applebee’s spokesperson told McClatchy News.

Plant City is roughly 25 miles east of Tampa.

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