Illustration by Adrian Walker Brown
I was a sports-bar bartender in Richmond in my early 20s. It seemed like a good gig back in 2001. My "promotion" from server to bartender afforded me more cash to supplement my day job and peck away at my student loans. At the end of each shift, a manager would take the bartender into the back office and "cash out" his or her drawer — reconciling sales and tips.
Bars being bars, there were some very late nights. My last late night involved cashing out and being trapped in the office with a suddenly very aggressive male manager who stated he would tell his boss that I wasn't doing my job if I didn't stay in the office with him longer. There was a bunch of grabbing — he pushed me against the desk and tried to smash his face on me. There was a lot of "you look good" talk, more grabbing and telling me how fun it would be if we "did it" in the management office.
I went to pieces — tears, heaving. My reaction, no doubt, arrested his momentum. I bolted as soon as I saw an opportunity and didn't even cash out. My fear was he’d follow me home. I drove around my neighborhood six or seven times, going down different blocks each time, before I parked at my house.
I didn't go to work the next night. When I called to quit and explain why to the bar's manager, I was laughed at and told that if I wasn't able to handle the heat, I should stay out of the kitchen. The restaurant shut down a few months later without telling its employees. I heard staff showed up to work to find the doors locked and chained.
When the chef John Besh scandal hit the news early last week in New Orleans, and then the story involving chef Cosmo Goss in Chicago followed, my memories of that sports bar back office resurfaced, and I wanted to write a story to learn what we're doing about harassment here in Richmond's restaurants. (Full disclosure: I work in employment now for Remx Specialty Staffing, a national employment firm.)
The service industry is unlike any other work. Long hours with few breaks. Hot kitchens, close quarters, testy customers and constant pressure. The norm is late nights, late mornings and, in some instances, drugs and alcohol. Coworkers become family and represent security. The work, to outsiders, is often viewed as a stepping stone to somewhere else as opposed to a career. With its low pay scale, turnover is frequent, and keeping employees long term is a daily uphill battle for management and owners.
Michelle Williams, who opened her first restaurant at 21 and now co-owns eight restaurants with the Richmond Restaurant Group, says her company has an explicit anti-harassment policy in its employee handbook. "Most of my employees are in their own little cocoons,” she says. "The Hill [Cafe] staff works with each other and are friends outside of work. I have a lot of both genders on both sides of the house. If an issue did come up, they and we'd be quick to address it."
"I think people are hesitant to speak out about their employment practices here [in Richmond] because they are afraid of stirring up something. Like, what if there is an issue and they didn't know?” Williams adds.
Rebecca Royals, founding member of the employment law firm Butler Royals, says, “I think [within] that industry, those employees are vulnerable. It seems to be a transient group, especially with how vibrant our restaurant scene has gotten.” Royals adds that as more people feel safer to bring issues to light, allegations are growing in a group that historically hasn’t had as much protection.
Chris Tsui, president of EAT Restaurant Partners, encouraged me to talk to his staff members about his restaurant group’s culture when I reached out to him. "It certainly happens in kitchens. People are kidding around, and someone may say something — it's close quarters. But we have a zero-tolerance policy. We don't foster or encourage that type of environment. Also, Richmond is a small community. If this type of thing is happening in a kitchen, people aren't going to work there,” Tsui says.
Martha Looney, EAT’s management development director, reinforced the restaurant group’s human resource policies when she came on board a year ago. “I have as many fail-safes in place as I can — we have roundtables, anonymous surveys, open discussions,” she says. “My biggest concern is that everyone feels safe coming to work, that they feel comfortable. And we are not perfect. Things fall through the cracks, but we keep multiple lines of open communication to catch all that we can.”
Not all harassment is sexual in nature. Bullying, such as from the back of the house to the front, can be harassment. Favoritism, whether it be with scheduling, situational or managerial, can be considered creating a work environment that isn’t comfortable for an employee.
For the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace released in July 2016, the task force examined “unwelcome or offensive conduct in the workplace that: (a) is based on sex (including sexual orientation, pregnancy and gender identity), race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability and/or genetic information; and (b) is detrimental to an employee's work performance, professional advancement and/or mental health.
This includes, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name-calling, undue attention, physical assaults or threats, unwelcome touching or contact, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, constant or unwelcome questions about an individual's identity, and offensive objects or pictures.”
The numbers in EEOC’s findings are alarming. Roughly one in four women and one in two LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex or asexual) individuals say they have been harassed in the workplace. Fifteen to 19 percent of men stated that they have experienced harassment at some level. Only about 6 percent of individuals who have been harassed file a complaint.
Sharon Masling, chief of staff to EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, says the EEOC offers individual companies a three-hour training for employees and four-hour training for supervisors for a fee. Masling welcomes restaurants, but cautions that current training is designed for employees working at the same site. “We are looking at continuing trainings in the future for multiple companies to attend as groups,” Masling says.
Last week, Brenner Pass co-owners Brittanny Anderson and Olivia Wilson issued a statement on Facebook in light of the Besh scandal, reinforcing their intolerance of harassment.
“At Brenner [Pass] and Metzger, we’ve had sexual harassment seminars for our employees. We have an employee handbook that outlines our policy. I mean, you don't know what you don't know, right? I think there should be scenario-based training and zero tolerance,” Anderson says.
“And everyone should be speaking out about this issue," she adds. "We have leaders here, and people follow them. It may not be happening in their restaurants, but it is happening. People listen to them and what they think. Their voices are important.”
Lee Gregory, co-owner of both Southbound and The Roosevelt, sent the following comment via text: “In light of the recent national conversation, we have reviewed and updated our harassment and conduct policies at the restaurants, and reiterated with the staff and managers. Our staff is aware that we have an open-door policy to voice their concerns. Maintaining a safe, comfortable workplace for our staff is our utmost concern.”
Bobby Kruger, general manager at The HofGarden, shared the paperwork his employees must review and sign — a two-page, no-nonsense document with a failure-to-report clause. Kruger said the document is atypical in the industry in his experience, but he has seen them. The Hof’s failure-to-report clause includes disciplinary action, a letter of reprimand, time without pay or separation with cause for individuals who “observe, are informed of, or reasonably suspect possible incidents of sexual harassment” but do not report them.
When asked about the volume of harassment cases in Richmond, Royals says, “I see a lot more than I should. I think it is surprising to people this [still] goes on in 2017. [Some people still assume] someone had to have asked for it. In fact, there is no place for victim blaming. Most employees don’t report. They need their jobs and want to keep their jobs. They put up with it.”
Confronting Harassment
Any instance of harassment based on sex is illegal. Royals suggests two steps for employees:
1. If at all possible, oppose the conduct. People are often afraid to reject advances. Opposition can be as simple as saying no to the aggressor. Also, tell your employer. If an employer is unaware of the problem, they have a potential legal out. (Most restaurants don’t have a human resources department, but opposing an act doesn’t have to include complaining to a HR official; it can be as straightforward as making it clear the conduct is inappropriate and unwelcome.)
2. Contact an attorney who specializes in this type of law. They have more information and can direct you to resources. You are not bound to pursue action with them. An employee doesn't have to be represented by a lawyer to file a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But an attorney can help tailor the charge and be mindful of deadlines. In Virginia, nongovernment employees have 300 days to file.
