Female workers sue McCormick & Schmick’s over lewd behaviour
BOSTON — Female kitchen workers at the McCormick & Schmick’s seafood restaurant in downtown Boston were subjected to constant groping and lewd comments from male supervisors and co-workers, and their complaints to the company were routinely ignored, five women said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The lawsuit highlights the abuse and harassment women in low-wage hospitality positions routinely face, even as allegations of sexual misconduct roil white-collar industries like film, media and politics, said Sophia Hall, an attorney for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which represents the women.
“These are positions that society often overlooks,” she said. “These women are particularly vulnerable, with limited English and no access to an effective reporting procedure. They suffered daily and in humiliating ways.”
Fabiana Santos, who worked as a prep cook at the restaurant, detailed the lewd comments and unwanted touching she endured from a male dishwasher at a news conference Tuesday.