Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Culver's In Cottage Grove

COTTAGE GROVE, MN — The Culver's franchise in Cottage Grove was sued by federal regulators seeking financial compensation for employees Tuesday as the chain is accused of subjecting them to years of racial, homophobic, ableist and sexist discrimination, according to a news release by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of multiple employees by the commission against R&G Endeavors Inc., which operates the Cottage Grove location. Attorney Lisa Bachman, who is representing the company's CEO, Ben Gathje, told the Star Tribune she had not had an opportunity to review the lawsuit but would defend against it.

According to the filings, in one instance, managers and other employees at the company singled out a gay and African American employee with racial and homophobic insults and discussed his sex life.

The litigation also alleges that Culver's denied a long-serving employee with a disability equal pay and pay raises because of his disability and that the company exposed female employees, some as young as 14, to sexual harassment that included unwanted sexual touching, jokes and propositions.

The agency wants the court to grant permanent injunctions ordering a halt to discriminatory behavior at the restaurant and to "institute and carry our policies, practices, and programs which provide equal employment opportunities for its employees regardless of race or sex," according to the release.

"Employees reported these conditions to management, but the company failed to reasonably address the harassment or discipline those responsible. The intolerable working conditions forced one employee to quit," the EEOC alleged.

“These forms of discriminatory harassment in the workplace are never acceptable,” Greg Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District Office, wrote in the news release. “All employees — regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation or disability — should enjoy an equal right to safety, dignity, and respect in their place of work, and the EEOC will vigorously enforce that right, through litigation if necessary.”

Diane Smason, acting district director of the EEOC’s Chicago District, added, “Federal law requires employers to take prompt and effective action to stop harassment on the job. Employers cannot simply ignore repeated reports of harassment, allowing this abusive conduct to continue and spread.”