Chicago Restaurant Workers Settle Case Against Former Employer for Sexual Harassment, Wage Theft & Retaliation

After experiencing widespread wage theft, sexual harassment and retaliation, Plaintiffs have won a settlement in their case against The Duplex, a Chicago-area restaurant. 

The win follows a legal challenge brought by six workers who reported a pattern of workplace violations, including failure to pay earned tips, minimum wage and overtime violations, repeated instances of sexual harassment, and retaliation for speaking out. The workers, determined to hold their employer accountable, took action together when they reached out to The CHAAD Project and GLOW, who supported them in filing charges with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, as well as pursuing a lawsuit in court.  

The case highlights the all-too-common conditions that restaurant workers endure – tip theft, wage theft, sexual harassment and retaliation for speaking up.  Too often, these abuses are accepted as the status quo in the hospitality industry. Because of that, the Plaintiffs brought the case as both a collective and class action to seek accountability for a pattern of conduct that mirrors what’swrong in too many restaurants across the country.  

Despite laws intended to protect workers, many workers remain reluctant to report workplace violations because they fear retaliation, lost hours, or termination as a result. This often results in workers putting up with workplace issues and chalking it up to part of the job, even when it’s regarding something as foundational as their right to accurate pay.  

In this case, the Plaintiffs pushed past their fears and took collective action to challenge their employer’s predatory practices, resulting in a win not only for them, but for other workers experiencing similar treatment at The Duplex.

“I want to thank my coworkers who were brave enough to speak out and up,” says one of the Plaintiffs, reflecting on how this victory could not have been possible without coming together.

### 

Press contact for GLOW: Lorraine Sands, lorraine@glow.law