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EEOC Sues Subway Franchise for Sexual Harassment
Federal Agency Charges Franchise Management with Failing to Prevent Sexual Assault of Teenage Employee
SALT LAKE CITY – Franchise Management, LLC, which operates over 20 Subway sandwich shops in Utah, violated federal law when it failed to correct or prevent a male manager from sexually harassing and assaulting a 16-year-old male employee, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed last Friday.
According to the lawsuit, a male district manager who oversaw several Subway locations sexually harassed a male teenage worker, culminating in sexual assault. For months, the manager made sexual comments to the teenager, including asking him for pictures in his underwear, and trying to discuss sexual preferences, sexual experiences and pornography with him. The manager also sent the teenager pictures of the manager in his underwear. The harassment culminated in the manager sexually assaulting the teenager twice during a work shift in September 2020.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment, including same-sex sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Franchise Management, LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-000392-DBP) in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas said, “Sexual assault at work is unacceptable and always violates Title VII, regardless of whether the harasser or victim is male or female.”
“Young workers are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment because they have less work experience and may be afraid to report an older or more powerful harasser,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. “This is why training on employment protections under Title VII and maintaining a work environment free of harassment is especially important to protect young people starting out in the workplace.”
The EEOC’s Phoenix District Director Melinda Caraballo said, “As frequent employers of young people, fast food businesses must have strong systems in place to ensure that teenage workers are not sexually harassed by older managers, and that workers new to the workforce understand their rights when harassment occurs.”
More information on sexual harassment can be found at the EEOC’s website: https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment.
The EEOC’s Youth@Work website at (http://www.eeoc.gov/youth/) presents information for teens and other young workers about employment discrimination, including curriculum guides for students and teachers and videos to help young workers learn about their rights and responsibilities.
The EEOC’s Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction over Utah, as well as Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and part of New Mexico.
The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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