A women has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against a popular Northeast Pennsylvania restaurant, The Windsor Inn, alleging that kitchen staff repeatedly sexually harassed her.
Laurie Lynn Hilbert worked for the restaurant from 2009 to 2010 bussing tables but had to quit because of the harassment. According to court papers, Hilbert’s sexual harassment attorneys stated that she has a slight case of mental retardation, for which she was made fun of by restaurant staff.
The lawsuit also alleges that kitchen staff would touch her inappropriately and made sexual comments to her. In one incident Hilbert alleges that one co-work grabbed her head and pushed it towards his groin. Another man made demeaning remarks referencing her mental capacity.
Hilbert tried to address the hostile work environment by reporting the behavior to supervisors, but they did nothing to stop or discipline her harassers. She was forced to quit. Her team of attorneys is seeking compensation for lost wages, benefits, attorney’s fees and punitive damages.
When an employee endures sexual harassment they suffer from emotional distress and the misconduct affects the workplace in general. Stopping this abuse can be difficult as many employers don’t take the allegations seriously until the harassed hires a Pennsylvania sexual harassment lawyer to file a lawsuit.
No employee has to put up with workplace harassment and discrimination. Reporting the behavior is the first step but should they fail to see results, the next step is to get the advice of a sexual harassment attorney in Pennsylvania to halt the abuse.