Swami's Cafe Sued After Allegations of Sexual Harassment of Young Female Workers

Update: Nicole St. Germain with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Los Angeles told NBC 7 on Monday that its investigation started with the complaint of one woman but once an investigation was launched, it discovered several other potential victims. St. Germain encouraged any Swami’s employee who feels they were harassed or retaliated against to contact her office at 213-785-3905.

“We’re actually pretty sure that there are a lot of other people who were affected by this behavior in the workplace, and they just may not be aware that what they were subjected to is, in fact, illegal,” St. Germain said.

An employee at Swami’s Cafe in Encinitas told NBC 7 that John Nolan was on duty Monday. A man believed to be Nolan rode up on his motorcycle and he parked. He did not respond after an NBC 7 reporter asked if he was John Nolan and then walked into the restaurant.

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A popular local restaurant chain with locations across San Diego County is being sued after allegations that it allowed women staffers, some underage, to be sexually harassed and that they then suffered retaliation if they complained, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges the family owned Swami's Cafe and Honey's Bistro casual eateries allowed an environment where male supervisors and co-workers made offensive sex-based remarks and advances toward female employees, who also were touched inappropriately. The EEOC said that Swami's and Honey's should have properly monitored its workplaces and without doing so, left their employees vulnerable to harassment.

The lawsuit details incidents dating back to at least 2019 at nine locations, including Honey's Bistro in Encinitas and the Swami's locations in Encinitas, Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, La Mesa, downtown, North Park and Hillcrest — allegations the defendants deny.

"We deny the allegations and will vigorously defend against this lawsuit," a spokesperson for Swami's 101 LLC said.
"We look forward to presenting our defense in court."

The most egregious allegations were against John Nolan, a manager at the coastal Encinitas location who's accused of physically touching and making sexual comments directed at the restaurant's young women employees.

"Since at least 2019, defendants have had a pattern of hiring teenage girls as young as 16 years old based on their appearance and vulnerability, using manipulative tactics to subject them to a highly sexualized work environment in which Swami’s male manager, John Nolan, would sexually harass them daily," the suit alleges.

In some cases, Nolan attempted to have sexual relations with the employees, the EEOC alleged. He played favorites among those who complied, rewarding them with expensive gifts like bicycles, surfboards, cash and illegal drugs, and retaliated against those who refused, assigning undesirable work shifts, yelling at them in front of customers and intimidating them, according to the court papers. In one instance, the lawsuit said, a complainant who told Nolan it was inappropriate to call her "baby" or "sexy" was fired. Others quit.

The lawsuit also claims Swami's owner Jaime Osuna was there for some of Nolan's comments toward women staffers and instead of stepping in, "He joined, in staring her up and down."

Other incidents include sexual harassment from coworkers and cooks at other Swami's locations and from a dishwasher at Honey's Bistro, who would grab waitresses from behind, the lawsuit states. Many of the women employees did not know there was a way to report harassment and in the incidents where women did complain, no action was taken, the lawsuit said.

“We are seeing more cases involving younger workers who may not be aware of their rights or may be hesitant to report harassment, because this is their first time in the workforce,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, whose jurisdiction includes San Diego County. “Employers should take greater care to ensure young workers are protected in the workplace by having effective policies and procedures, training and accountability measures in place.”

The employment office said the restaurants cooperated with an investigation in July 2022 by the EEOC, and attempts were made to resolve the situation for months before filing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit does not explicitly name defendants but, instead, refers to them as Does 1-10, allowing for the opportunity to sue individuals in the future. The EEOC said the allegations violated Title VII, which protects employees from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

The EEOC seeks punitive damage for their complainants and an injunction to prevent future harassment.