Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storySeveral former workers at a Chandler Cheesecake Factory restaurant claim other workers improperly touched them and talked to them while they were at work.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against the company on June 30.
The lawsuit, according to a press release issued by the EEOC, accuses the company of permitting "a class of male employees to be repeated [sic] sexually harassed by groups of other male employees."
Two former employees, who once worked as servers and "expediters" (a position - according to workers -- designed to help some employees advance into management positions) at the restaurant, told ABC15 they were constantly harassed by cooks in the kitchen.
Several cooks, according to the former employees, would force them into a food storage area referred to as the "walk-in."
According to the former employees, who asked not be identified by their full names, several cooks would hold them down, and force their legs up in the air while touching and rubbing their genitals.
"They had a guy pick me up and sit underneath me and make me put my butt on his genitals," said Bryce, a former expediter.
"They lifted each of my legs up," he said. "They had one person hold my right arm and one person hold my left arm, so my legs were literally up in the air, and then a guy would stand in the middle, in a sexual position, and he would grind his genitals on my genitals," said Bryce.
"They would all take turns until everybody got to do it," he remembered. "You feel helpless."
The lawsuit claims "The harassment created a hostile work environment."
The former employees told ABC15 they felt "extremely embarrassed".
One employee said he became stressed as a result of the harassment and lost twenty-five pounds. He claimed he also suffered from panic attacks.
The Cheesecake Factory responded by making a statement through a public relations firm.
"The Cheesecake Factory is aware that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona alleging unlawful employment practices at one of our restaurants," the statement said.
"It is inappropriate to discuss matters currently in litigation and, to preserve our staff members' privacy, we do not discuss individual employees," the statement continued.
"However, we take all employee harassment claims seriously, and provide several venues for contacting us with concerns including our unique CareLine hotline which provides a direct, anonymous forum for bringing employee concerns to the company's attention, which are investigated and appropriate action taken when warranted."
