CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – A Chesterfield County bar is facing a lawsuit that alleges an assistant manager sexually harassed female employees and propositioned them for sex.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against a Daisy Dukes and Boots Saloon on Friday, Sept 28. The lawsuit alleges a sexually hostile work environment for female employees, including slapping and grabbing their buttocks and sexual comments.
Kimsan Yin, the owner of Daisy Dukes and Boots Saloon, tells CBS 6 that he put his trust in the wrong people and now he is facing the consequences for other people’s actions.
“You work day in and day out and put your entire savings into it and could be torn down even though you’re not the one doing it,” said Yin.
Kimsan Yin
The alleged incidents occurred from at least September 2016 through June 2017, according to the lawsuit.
It alleges a male assistant manager at the bar sexually harassed a former employee that CBS 6 is choosing not to name and other female employees, forcing them to resign.
The EEOC alleges that Daisy Dukes reduced the hours of the unnamed employee after she complained about sexual comments and touching by the manager.
The lawsuit alleges that the employee quit because her hours were cut and because Daisy Dukes failed to stop the sexual harassment. The EEOC said other women sexually harassed by the manager also quit because of this reason.
Yin says he only knew about one allegation and thought it was being handled by his general manager at the time.
“Regardless if he wanted to fire somebody, I just had to back him up and trust his judgment that he’s doing the best decision,” said Yin.
Yin says he immediately suspended the assistant manager for a week and relocated him, but she still resigned.
The EEOC alleges that the Chesterfield bar violated federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation against employees who complain about it.
Yin has one piece of advice for other small business owners in light of this situation.
“You have to be very careful of who you hire because other people’s actions can affect your livelihood,” he added.
The assistant manager accused in the lawsuit in no longer employed at Daisy Dukes.
CBS 6 spoke with the former general manager of the bar and restaurant off-camera. He says the allegations in the lawsuit are 100 percent true.
The EEOC seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the female employees, as well as injunctive relief to prevent any future discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
"The EEOC is committed to enforcing the law when employers tolerate this type of sexual harassment in the workplace," Kara G. Haden, acting regional attorney for the agency's Charlotte District Office, said in a press release. "Employees should not be forced to tolerate sexual harassment in order to keep their jobs."
The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement with Daisy Dukes and Boots Saloon.
Yin’s second location of Daisy Dukes and Boots Saloon in Hopewell recently had its ABC license privileges revoked after a recent fight between a customer and employee. Yin said he is working to get it back but has to do several things which include installing a metal detector at every entrance of the bar.
