Dollars From Donuts: Shop Settles Sexual Harassment Case

You might think that a doughnut shop would be a relatively harmless place to work for high school kids wanting to make a little extra money in their spare time. But the Wynantskill Dunkin' Donuts in New York state turned out to be hazardous to some female employees' peace of mind, and just settled a hefty sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the manager of the store was guilty of unwanted touching and hugging, as well as making lewd sexual comments. Because of this, a recent settlement requires College View Donuts LLC to pay $290,000 to former employees, appoint an equal employment opportunity coordinator, and have all employees and managers undergo sexual harassment prevention training.

The EEOC claimed that when the suit was filed in November 2009 there may have been as many as 15 victims, some of whom were 16 or 17 years old. The manager was fired after the harassment allegations surfaced, but the EEOC said that store management allowed the manager to continue harassing employees for a year after two employees first complained, according to the Times Union.

"Sexual harassment is never acceptable, but it is especially troubling when the victims are teenagers," stated Adela Santos, an EEOC trial attorney.

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