Press Release: Former Workers File Lawsuit Against The Duplex, Backed by GLOW Legal Team
Case Sheds Light on Widespread Abuses in Chicago's Hospitality Industry
CHICAGO, IL (July 2nd, 2025)—Former employees of The Duplex, a popular Chicago restaurant and bar in Logan Square, have filed a lawsuit detailing violations of federal, state, and Chicago labor laws. In March 2025, sexual harassment charges were filed against The Duplex with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, which are currently pending. In May last year, workers contacted The CHAAD Project, a local advocacy organization for restaurant workers seeking accountability for their workplace.
The lawsuit, filed by Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers, paints a disturbing picture of life behind the bar. "Grassroots Law & Organizing for Workers is committed to empowering workers to fight exploitative working conditions within the restaurant industry. Our clients experienced repeated incidents of sexual harassment from ownership, a culture of retaliation against those who spoke up, consistent failure by management to protect workers or uphold their basic rights," states Attorney Keren Salim. In one instance, a worker who experienced harassment was retaliated against for refusing sexual advances, impacting their livelihood.
The lawsuit draws attention to a larger issue in the restaurant industry of employers misusing funds intended for workers to pad their own bottom line. "At issue is the misuse and lack of transparency around a 20% charge on customers' bills that clearly stated it was a gratuity but nonetheless was unlawfully kept by management," says Raeghn Draper, Executive Director of the CHAAD Project. "The law is clear: gratuities are the rightful property of the workers who earn them," says Attorney Salim.
A Widespread Industry Crisis
National statistics reinforce the systemic nature of these issues:
90% of women in restaurants report experiencing sexual harassment.
Tipped workers are twice as likely to face harassment.
71% of harassment cases go unreported, and of those that are, 75% of workers experience retaliation.
The lawsuit highlights how a toxic combination of low wages, tip-based pay, and lax enforcement allows abuse to thrive in the hospitality industry and disproportionately impacts immigrants, people of color, and gender oppressed workers. The Chicago hospitality sector generates billions in revenue annually, yet the workers whose labor sustains the industry are consistently undervalued and underprotected. CHAAD and GLOW see this case as a harbinger of cultural change– Chicago hospitality workers won’t tolerate the abuse anymore and feel empowered to speak up. As a global dining destination, Chicago restaurant workers deserve safety while feeding the masses that generate millions for this city.
About GLOW
GLOW (Grassroots Legal Organizers for Workers) is a racial and economic justice organization dedicated to shifting the balance of power towards greater equity in our economy and society by leveraging legal strategies and resources to build worker power. Working in deep partnership with base-building groups, we empower systematically marginalized people to take collective action, challenge predatory and exploitative working conditions, and advance policies that build worker power and create long-term systemic change.
About CHAAD
CHAAD (Chicago Hospitality Accountability & Advocacy Database) is an organization created by and for hospitality workers in Chicago to advance accountability and end labor abuses within the industry. CHAAD is not just an organization—it’s a movement rooted in the belief that hospitality workers deserve more than survival; they deserve power, dignity, and ownership in shaping their workplaces.