Video: Jason's Deli Employee Claims She Was Fired For Reporting Harassment

By aaroncynic in News on Jun 24, 2013 10:00PM

Union members with the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago held a press conference and protest Monday outside Jason’s Deli in the Loop, where a former employee says she was fired after speaking out against sexual and racial harassment.

Shakita Moore filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday, alleging a supervisor tolerated both sexual and racial harassment at the deli and that her bosses found a pretext to fire her after she intimated she considered reporting the harassment to Jason's Deli's corporate office.

Accompanied by a lawyer and supporters from WOCC, the union which helped organize some of the minimum wage protests along the Magnificent Mile in April, Moore said: “Jason’s Deli has put me through so much stress. I hope after this they learn not to treat employees the way they treated me.”

Barry Bennett, the lawyer who assisted Moore in filing the charges, said:

“The part of her charge that is most shocking and disappointing is that when she brought this misconduct to management's attention and asked management to do something about it, their response was to fire her.”

ABC7 reports Jason’s Deli released a statement that it stands by firing Moore, claiming it “treats all of its employees with respect and dignity.” Moore seeks her immediate reinstatement with full back pay, that Jason's Deli adopt a zero tolerance policy toward racial and sexual harrassment and that they publicly report their policy.