A group of former Double T Diner waitresses charged in two federal lawsuits yesterday that the restaurant known for its milkshakes and meatloaf dinners also unlawfully created a sexually hostile work environment.
The 11 ex-waitresses say they were subjected daily to unwanted ridicule and crude sexual comments by managers and male co-workers at the restaurant chain's White Marsh location.
The harassment was so bad, according to the lawsuits, that 10 of the women say they had to quit. One claims she was fired after she complained to the Baltimore office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A lawyer representing the restaurant said the women's claims are unfounded and that the White Marsh diner has a "first-rate" record of fairly treating female employees and responding to sexual-discrimination charges.
"Of course, the company will be defending itself in court," said Joseph K. Pokempner, a Baltimore attorney representing Lagadino's Inc., the restaurant's corporate owner. "It's regrettable the complaints had to get to this stage."
Lagadino's was the only defendant named in a lawsuit filed yesterday by the EEOC. A separate lawsuit, in which eight of the waitresses are seeking up to $2 million each in damages, also names Koros Inc., owner of the Double T Diner in Catonsville.
All of the 11 waitresses named in the suit worked in White Marsh. They are Tawney Carey, Brenda DeFalco, Sandra Georgewich, Robin Heagy, Beverly McCray, Stacey Pugh, Barbara Stealey, Mary Tsurunakis, Lisa Updegraff, Donna Wolf and Doris Wolfe.
The former workers are asking for back pay and unspecified punitive damages. They also want the diner to implement policies against sexual harassment.
