Skip to content
Restaurants & Food Service

Compliance Built for Restaurants & Food Service

Restaurants are the #1 industry for EEOC sexual harassment claims, and 71% of female restaurant workers report being harassed. Tipping dynamics, kitchen culture, multilingual workforces, and seasonal staffing create constant exposure. The compliance program has to match.

Talk to a Compliance Expert See Our Approach
The Restaurant Risk Profile

The industry the EEOC has named a priority

One in seven sexual harassment charges in America is filed by a restaurant worker. The industry is the regulator's number-one target.

14.23%
Of ALL EEOC sexual harassment claims come from restaurants
More than any other industry.
Source: Center for American Progress analysis of EEOC charge data
71%
Of women restaurant workers report having been sexually harassed
Most never file because they need the tips.
Source: One Fair Wage / UC Berkeley survey (2021)
$2M
Paid by a McDonald's franchisee in 2023 to settle EEOC harassment claims aimed mainly at teenage employees
A Chili's operator in Prosper, Texas settled similar teen-harassment claims the same year.
Source: EEOC v. AMTCR, Inc. (2023)
What's Different About Our Program

Built for the kitchen, the floor, and the tip line

A compliance program written for the way restaurants actually operate, multilingual, multi-shift, multi-location, multi-pressure.

Multilingual Training

Training delivered in English and Spanish at standard service, with additional languages available. Courts have ruled that English-only complaint procedures fail the Faragher second prong for non-English-speaking workers.

Tip-Dependent Culture Awareness

Training scenarios that name the actual dynamics: tipped servers' financial dependence on customers, kitchen-hierarchy harassment, sous-chef-to-line-cook power dynamics. Generic training pretends these don't exist.

Multilingual Hotline

Reporting available in multiple languages, anonymously, 24/7, because BOH staff and tipped servers reporting to the manager-on-duty isn't a real channel. Removes the most common Faragher defeater.

Multi-Location Consistency

Whether you operate two restaurants or two hundred, the program is consistent across every location. The EEOC's systemic-case template fails when documentation is consistent group-wide.

Our Process

From audit to operational defense across every concept

Single-unit, multi-unit, multi-brand, multi-state, same predictable rollout.

  1. 1

    Concept-Wide Audit

    We map your existing program across every location, identifying gaps in policies, training, and reporting infrastructure. The gap report is the starting point.

  2. 2

    Multilingual Rollout

    Training and policies deployed in the languages your workforce actually speaks. Posters, payroll inserts, and digital channels make the hotline visible to BOH and FOH alike.

  3. 3

    Quarterly Detection

    Anonymous pulse surveys catch issues before they escalate. Many of our restaurant clients have caught and resolved issues that would have become EEOC charges or class actions.

  4. 4

    Multi-Unit Reporting

    Group-level dashboards for ownership and operations leadership. Per-restaurant rollup for individual GMs. The reports your CFO and your counsel both want.

FAQ

Common questions

Why is the restaurant industry so high-risk?
A combination of structural factors: large numbers of young workers in their first jobs without prior workplace exposure to harassment training; financial dependence on tips that creates pressure to tolerate customer misconduct; high-pressure kitchen culture with traditionally tolerated language and conduct; multilingual workforces where English-only policies and reporting channels fail; and an EEOC enforcement priority that means the agency is actively looking for systemic patterns. Bottom line: restaurants face more harassment claims, with weaker defenses, and a regulator actively looking for problems.
Do you cover quick-service, fast-casual, and full-service equally well?
Yes. We serve the full spectrum. The risk profile differs (fast-casual has more young workers in first jobs, full-service has more tipped-server dynamics, fine dining has more sous-chef power dynamics) but the compliance fundamentals are the same. Training scenarios are tailored to your concept.
What languages do you cover for training?
English and Spanish at standard service, with Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Haitian Creole, French, Arabic, and additional languages available with advance configuration. Critical because federal courts have repeatedly ruled that English-only complaint procedures fail the Faragher second prong for limited-English-proficient workers.
Can you handle franchisees with multi-brand exposure?
Yes. Multi-brand operators (e.g., a franchisee operating a fast-casual concept and a full-service concept) get unified policies and reporting infrastructure with brand-specific training scenarios. Your franchisor's compliance requirements are layered into the program where applicable.
What about delivery drivers and gig workers?
Coverage depends on the legal classification. Direct-employee delivery drivers are covered identically to FOH/BOH staff. Independent-contractor gig workers (DoorDash, Uber Eats drivers fulfilling your orders) are governed by the gig platform's policies, but third-party harassment of your in-restaurant staff by gig workers IS your responsibility, and our training addresses it.

Stop being the industry the EEOC targets first.

The harassment claim rate in restaurants is structural. The defense doesn't have to be.

Schedule Your Compliance Assessment Call 866.240.6618
Multi-State Operations

Operating in more than one state?

Training mandates stack by jurisdiction, with different thresholds, durations, and renewal cycles in each one. Our matrix covers seven mandate states, three city and district overlays, and Texas, with the statutory citation for every requirement.

See the mandate matrix