As we have noted before, the restaurant industry can be a tough place to work when it comes to being subjected to inappropriate and unwanted behavior.

Several female employees of a restaurant claim that their male co-workers subjected them to unwanted sexual harassment, including inappropriate touching. Now the restaurant has agreed to pay a settlement of $25,000 as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The women, two of whom were teenagers at the time, say the harassment goes back to 2005 at Rafael's Italian Restaurant, which is one of several establishments operated by the same owner across Tennessee.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, male kitchen workers at Rafael's repeatedly harassed their female co-workers. The harassment apparently included requests for sex, crude comments and inappropriate touching that involved using vegetables to simulate sexual acts.

The victims say they complained several times about their co-workers' behavior, to no avail. Management at the restaurant allegedly did nothing to stop it or change what was going on.

The lawsuit resulted in more than just a monetary award. As part of a consent decree, the restaurant is enjoined from discriminating against employees and must provide annual training on employees' rights. It also has to establish and maintain a written policy banning discrimination in the workplace.

The EEOC notes that failing to correct known sexual harassment violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As one attorney notes, "Allowing serial harassers to victimize female employees without facing consequences is a clear violation of federal law."

Source: EEOC, "Rafael's Italian Restaurant settles EEOC sexual harassment suit," Jan. 18, 2012