A Sonic Drive-In in Grapevine, Texas,  has agreed to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), for $31,000, the agency announced today. The EEOC’s suit charged that SDI of Grapevine  [2240 Hall Johnson Road],  A Texas Partnership, subjected 17-year-old carhop Erin Schwarzbach to a  sexually hostile work environment created by the general manager of the  restaurant.

According to the  EEOC, General Manager Shawn Sadler, who was in his mid-20s at that time,  subjected Schwarzbach, an academic standout at Colleyille Heritage  High School, to unwanted  sexual conduct. The harassment by the  manager included puckering his lips as if to give Schwarzbach a kiss and  telling her how a woman should perform oral sex on a man. When Schwarzbach  would ask Sadler to review her receipts so she could leave, he told her that he  would do so in exchange for oral sex. Schwarzbach  provided the EEOC with information that when she would bend down to put on her  roller skates at the beginning a shift, the manager would grab her head and  push it down in an attempt to simulate oral sex.

After Schwarzbach’s  mother reported the conduct to company officials, the EEOC said, defendant  failed to conduct a proper investigation and did not appropriately discipline  the manager, even though the company found that he had engaged in “harassing  behavior.”

Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of  1964. In October 2006, Ms.  Schwarzbach filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC, initiating an  investigation by the agency’s Dallas District Office. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No.  3:08-CV-1606-L) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas,  Dallas Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

Under the settlement, besides the monetary award, SDI of Grapevine is enjoined from further discrimination  on the basis of gender, including sexual harassment, and from retaliating in  any way against person for reporting or complaining about discriminatory  practices. Further, the company will  take corrective measures for the next five years, including anti-harassment training  and notice posting. The company will  also place in the manager’s personnel file a written notice stating that a  young worker has alleged sexual harassment, including forced physical touching,  and that any further complaints will be fully investigated according to defendant’s  procedures and, should there be evidence to support such claims, he shall be  subject to immediate termination.