A Las Vegas restaurant is facing two sexual harassment lawsuits filed on behalf of two former employees. The women, both of whom were bartenders, say the seafood restaurant's general manager inappropriately touched them, commented on their bodies and graphically described sex acts he'd like to engage in with them.

Both women also say that when they objected to the manager's misconduct, the restaurant retaliated against them. Attorneys for the restaurant and the manager have denied the allegations of one of the women and haven't yet responded against the other woman's lawsuit. But an attorney for the women, who are being represented by the same law firm, said their stories have been corroborated by witnesses who no longer work at the restaurant.

In addition to their denial of one of the women's claims, attorneys of the defendants have filed a counterclaim against her that alleges abuse of process. They say she's simply trying to get a financial settlement out of them. The general manager said in an affidavit that the second woman told him while she was still working at the restaurant that the first woman had asked her to get involved in her sexual harassment lawsuit. He claims that she told him then that she had no reason to join the lawsuit and that she was upset over being linked with the sexual harassment allegations.

But in her deposition testimony, the employee recalled a very different version of that conversation. She said the manager asked her if he'd ever been inappropriate with her. "And I looked him straight in the face and said, 'Absolutely, you've been inappropriate.'" She said she only continued to work at the restaurant because she was pregnant, her husband was unemployed and she couldn't afford to quit.

The first woman to file the lawsuit said her working hours were cut after she complained about the harassment, and that she received several unwarranted warnings in an effort to set her up for an equally unwarranted termination. When she told the bar manager that she planned to sue the general manager, instead of directing her to the human resources department, he warned her that doing so would get her blacklisted from working at other restaurants.

No amount of sexual harassment is acceptable, nor are threats or warnings that an employee will be punished for objecting to inappropriate conduct. Workers whose attempts to stop the behavior are ineffective may want to contact an employment law attorney who can examine their case and determine the best next steps.

Source: Vegas Inc., "Celebrity chef's Vegas restaurant facing harassment lawsuits," Steve Green, Feb. 15, 2012