The Minnesota Department of Human Rights is calling workplace sexual harassment persistent and pervasive.
Recently, the department announced a series of lawsuits against employers and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
In one case, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights sued a McDonald's franchisee located in Maple Grove.
In its complaint, the agency alleges that a 24-year-old manager groomed a 14-year-old employee for a sexual relationship in 2018.
It also says the manager sexually assaulted the minor repeatedly at the restaurant and says at least two other supervisors were aware of the relationship but did nothing.
According to the complaint, police arrested the manager for criminal sexual conduct, but McDonald's only fired him for bringing marijuana to work – not for sexually harassing or assaulting the employee.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights says this lawsuit is one of many filed across the country against McDonald's franchisees for sexual harassment.
Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero is calling on employers to ensure they have meaningful procedures to prevent sexual harassment.
For this case, in particular, she says, "there was a phone number in place for someone to call if they were experiencing sexual harassment, but it was a made-up phone number."
Lucero says one way workplace sexual harassment can be prevented is if employers enforce the policies they have in place.
"Things do happen," the commissioner said. "But it's about how we act when things happen that set us all up for success. It's a good opportunity for all schools and all employers to just look back at the policies they have in place and say, 'Ok, are these policies sufficient?' 'Do we have them translated into different languages?' 'Are they useful?' Do these phone numbers we provide actually work?'"
If you believe you are the victim of sexual harassment or any other type of discrimination covered under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, call the Discrimination Helpline at 1-833-454-0148 or submit this online form.
