Chili’s Fights Off EEOC’s Sex Harassment, Hostile Workplace Case

Chili’s defeated an EEOC hostile work environment lawsuit alleging teen girls who worked at one of the chain’s Arkansas restaurants faced sexual harassment from a male coworker twice their age.

No reasonable jury could find that all four of the teen workers subjectively perceived their workplace as abusive, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas said. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also lacks evidence showing Brinker International Inc.—Chili’s parent company—and related entities knew about harassment and failed to intervene, the Tuesday opinion granting the restaurant summary judgment said.

The EEOC sued Chili’s on behalf of ...