Employment Lawyer Blog

31-year old Janet Kim has filed a complaint through the New York State of Human Rights against "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmare" celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay -- as well as Ramsay's restaurant in the London NYC Hotel. The single mom, who works as a commis chef, alleges that her male colleagues sexually harassed her and mistreated her in a variety of ways.

Here are some of the "incendiary" allegations against the male chefs:

• According to the Daily Mail Reporter, workers referred to her derogatorily as "China" - hinting at racial and ethnic discrimination there.
• Chefs called her a whore and propositioned her for oral sex.
• Ms. Kim also alleges she was retaliated against by the kitchen staff members, who forced her to make tiny hors d'oeuvres in what her male colleagues called the "c**t corner."
• In the wake of Ms. Kim's accusations, many members of the staff -- who were furious at her -- walked out of the restaurant to protest her return.

Although Ramsay no longer owns the 2 star Michelin restaurant - he sold it back to its original owners - the fine dining establishment bears his name, and it gets a significant amount of business because of its association with his celebrity. The allegations of sexual harassment, racial harassment, and retaliation are particularly ironic, since one of Chef Ramsay's most famous TV shows - Kitchen Nightmares - focused on rehabilitating restaurants in trouble.

According to the Daily Mail Reporter, "Ms. Kim felt the British Chef's fiery television persona had rubbed off in her male colleagues, creating a 'toxic environment'." Her legal representative suggested that "she feels he is a celebrity who films the shows there [at the London]... where this type of environment [fiery and testosterone driven] is permitted and accepted."

So far, both Gordon Ramsay's spokespeople and LXR Luxury Resorts (the company which now owns the London NYC) have kept mum about the allegations.

Chef Ramsay is not the only celebrity restaurateur who's recently been targeted with charges like wage and hour violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation. Far from it. But, just because you're a celebrity who owns a business does not give you the right to mistreat your employees. Unfortunately, a kind of "culture of abuse" pervades many restaurants; especially, apparently, here in New York City.

Fortunately, victims have rights, and they have a lot of law on their side. If you or someone you care about has been subject to any kind of mistreatment at your restaurant or other work place, the powerful and resourceful team at Joseph & Kirschenbaum can provide a free and confidential consultation. Learn more about the firm at www.jhllp.com, or dial 866-348-7394 to get a confidential consultation now.

According to an April 25th article in the Hartford Courant, last year, employees filed nearly 100,000 complaints of workplace discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) - "an all-time high."

More than 33,000 complaints were specifically for retaliation, which has now surpassed "racial discrimination" as the number one EEOC complaint. The EEOC also received high numbers of racial discrimination, gender discrimination, disability and national origin, and religious discrimination complaints last year.

A spokesperson for Connecticut's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), Jim O'Neill, blamed the spike on the recession: "The economy is bad and people are desperate not to lose their jobs, so they are filing complaints they would not necessarily have made in the past."

The Courant, however, also quotes an EEOC spokesperson, James Ryan, who cautioned analysts not to over-interpret the spike: "The fiscal year charge data can tell us a lot, but it does not tell us why there was an increase in a given charge or about the cause for the filing of particular charges."

The Courant's analyst speculates that the rise in retaliation filings could be attributable to "shifting legal strategies by plaintiffs' lawyers."

The swelling number of complaints has some policymakers alarmed. Will all this legal action help employees and make the system fairer? Or will it simply glut the court systems and create an unnecessary burden on employers who are already struggling with a tough economy?

It's difficult to answer these questions objectively, since one's perspective will color one's read of the data. For instance, if you're an advocate for workers' rights, you may look at the spike in EEOC filings and conclude that employers are giving their workers short shrift and cutting corners to survive in the troubled economy. On the other hand, the data could be read differently. Perhaps employers are acting like they always did... but workers are now (for whatever reason) far less tolerant of bad behavior or mistreatment than they had been in the past.

Pulling back from the policy debate and regardless of whether there are more or less issues being reported, it's important to ground this in practical terms if you or someone you care about has been victimized by racial discrimination, retaliation, or any other workplace violation. The legal team at Joseph & Kirschenbaum can provide high-caliber assistance in such matters. Connect today for a free and confidential consultation at www.jhllp.com or (866) 348-7394.

New research out of Penn State University suggests that African Americans who suffer from racial discrimination will experience an increased likelihood of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) at some point in their lives. William A. Smith, a Professor at University of Utah, coined the term "racial battle fatigue" to describe the similarities between the chronic debilitating effects of race discrimination and the debilitating effects of war time stresses.

"Racial battle fatigue" manifests both physically and psychologically. Psychologically, victims may suffer agitated thoughts and trouble concentrating. Physically, victims may experience ulcers, fatigue, and headaches. This new research - published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders - examined nearly 6,000 American adults, including over 3,500 African Americans.

Jose Soto, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Penn State, reports: "one interesting finding from the study is that non-racial discrimination seems to be associated with the development of GAD [generalized anxiety disorder] for all three groups in the sample... about 49% of non-Hispanic whites said they suffered other forms of discrimination... this is just one instance of how powerful social stressors can impact healthy functioning."

Soto suggests that the experience of racism causes the anxiety. Perhaps. This conclusion seems to match our intuitive expectations. For instance, consider a situation in which a co-worker harasses you on a daily basis; this abuse might lead to a long-term self esteem deficit, which in turn could cause generalized anxiety.

However, alternative explanations also might explain the data. For instance, perhaps the correlation between racial abuse and GAD could be explained in reverse. Consider a situation in which an anxiety-prone individual enters the work force. Perhaps this person had a genetic tendency to be anxious. A non-anxious person might be able to "laugh off" a tasteless joke or a rude comment. But a more sensitive person -- more prone to anxiety -- might be more likely to interpret bad behavior as harassment/discrimination.

In science, it's important to be able to tease apart cause from effect. If the end goal is to end racial and gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation - as it should be - then experts should consider multiple reads of the data before implementing policy prescriptions.

In any event, irrespective of how one might try to interpret this research, the reality is that racial and gender discrimination occurs all the time in American workplaces. If someone you care about has been denied a promotion, fired, or otherwise mistreated at work, the team at Joseph & Kirschenbaum can work with you to develop solutions. Explore clear and active resources at www.jhllp.com, or connect for free consultation at 866-348-7394.

Yale University, one of the nation's elite schools, has become the target of a federal inquiry into sexual harassment allegations.

Last year, Yale students videotaped several members of a campus fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE), marching around campus, chanting "no means yes, yes means anal." On April 6, NPR reported on the details of serious allegations against the University. Alexandra Brodsky, a Yale University junior, along with 15 other current and former female Yale students, filed a complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. The students allege that Yale campus offers "a sexually hostile environment." They also argued that Yale "failed to respond appropriately to personal incidents of sexual violence."

Published statistics about sexual harassment, rape, and attempted rape on America's campuses are astounding. The Federal Justice Department contends that 20% of all collegiate women will either be raped or suffer an attempted rape while at school. Furthermore, according to various independent studies, students who commit sex crimes often escape without significant censure from their schools.

Brodsky and her 15 other co-plaintiffs spoke out against Yale: "They are culpable because they haven't responded appropriately. There is a feeling that we live in this space without any sort of responsibility to each other sexually, without any repercussions to these actions."

Federal investigators are expected to complete the inquiry in about six months. Due to Yale's reputation the inquiry could have a profound and long lasting impact on how colleges and universities respond to and manage allegations of harassment, rape and attempted rape.

This story raises deep questions about how American colleges should operate. For instance, what's the line between allowing freedom of expression and permitting abuse or mistreatment of students? In the NPR article, Brodsky cites another incident that disturbed her. Another fraternity, Zeta Psi, hung a sign in front of the Yale Women's Center reading "we love Yale sluts" - Brodsky alleges that the University took way too long to respond to this harassment.

On the other hand, critics of the legal action argue that college should be a place where students experiment and challenge one another. If legal action is easy to trigger, students may self-censor, and it will be difficult to cultivate an environment of vigorous and aggressive scholarship.

If you or someone you care about has been sexually harassed or has suffered retaliation or gender discrimination at your school, workplace, or other institution, connect with Joseph & Kirschenbaum at www.jhlp.com or 866-348-7394.

Last Thursday, nine former Auburn University Athletic Department employees filed a racial discrimination suit against the college in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Alabama.

The lawsuit stems from a spree of firings in 2010. When AU moved its basketball arena from the old Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to a new arena, the Athletic Department let go of 11 workers, 10 of whom happened to be African American.

Kurtis Chandler was one of the employees who was let go. In a statement at a press conference following the filing of the suit, Chandler said: "it is just mindboggling that in 2011 it [racial discrimination] is still going on." The employees want their jobs back at AU's Athletics Department as well as compensatory and punitive damages as well as back pay.

The nine workers filed complaints with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) last June about the job losses, however the EEOC apparently had been moving too slowly for the group, so they commenced legal action on their own.

Reaction from around the blogosphere

Some analysts suggest that the employees are making a "mountain out of a mole hill." These critics argue that AU had simply downsized its workforce without any conscious malice and that the majority of the fired workers happened to be African American was a random coincidence.

There are others who see more disturbing motives. These critics point out that Auburn is located in Montgomery, Alabama - one of the bastions of the Old South where discrimination was rife.

It's often difficult to parse the veracity of discrimination allegations. Even after you consider witness statements, relevant documents, and historical context, there is the possibility for serious errors.

News stories - even in-depth news analyses - typically don't delve deep enough into allegations of racial discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment to provide readers with enough meaningful information to draw fair conclusions.

Does this mean you shouldn't react emotionally when you read stories about racial discrimination? Obviously not. But a more mature approach to analyzing the news might help; withhold your judgment until more facts are clear.

If you've personally witnessed (or have been victimized by) racial discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, or wage and hour violations, you know how difficult it can be to get other people - even sympathetic family members - to empathize with your concerns and to really hear out what happened to you. Solving job-related "hostile work environment" situations begins with active listening.

If you crave to be listened to about your discrimination or harassment matter, talk to the reputable, compassionate, and experienced team at Joseph & Kirschenbaum. Dial 866-348-7394, or learn more about the team on the web at www.jhllp.com.