Imagine you are working as a waitress. What would you do if a police officer who frequented your restaurant harassed you at work, and the restaurant managers did nothing about it? Sometimes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must get involved to help curb a hostile work environment.

That's exactly what happened in Florida recently. The EEOC filed a lawsuit against the Hurricane Grill and Wings in Royal Palm Beach, alleging it allowed a sheriff's deputy who was a regular customer to routinely sexually harass waitresses. He reportedly started the harassment in April 2009.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the lawsuit alleges the deputy would frequently comment on the women's bodies, proposition them for threesomes with his wife, show them explicit photos and follow them around the restaurant in an attempt to take pictures of them.

The women allegedly told their managers about the harassment, but nothing was done to stop it, according to reports. And when they found out that one of the waitresses planned to sue, they allegedly fired her out of retaliation in March 2010

According to an attorney for the EEOC, the restaurant, which is part of a chain of 42 locations countrywide, had a duty to maintain a safe work environment that was free of sexual harassment. It failed in that duty, according to the complaint.

On behalf of the employees, the EEOC is reportedly seeking back pay and punitive damages. None of the women commented on the lawsuit.

Source: Palm Beach Post, "EEOC lawsuit: Royal Palm Beach restaurant allowed deputy to sexually harass waitresses," Jason Schultz, 7 July 2011