Bantle & Levy has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Evan Manolakos and Peter Manolakos against their former employers, Patrizia’s Restaurant Group LLC (“Patrizia’s”) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Patrizias of Staten Island LLC d/b/a “Patrizia’s of Staten Island” (the “Restaurant”).
As alleged in the Complaint, which can be found here, Evan and Peter Manolakos were repeatedly sexually harassed by the Restaurant’s General Manager throughout the duration of their employment with Patrizia’s. For example, they allege that the General Manager supervisor fondled their genitals, attempted to digitally penetrate them by sticking his finger up their rectums, and took photographs of them using the bathroom. In addition to sexually harassing them, the Manolakos Brothers allege that the General Manager subjected them to explicitly discriminatory attacks on the basis of their Greek heritage, including referring to them as “stupid Greek f—-s” and telling them that “Greeks are just lazy f—-s like you; that’s why Greece is in the state that it’s in.”
“The Manolakos Brothers have bravely come forward to seek justice against Patrizia’s and its senior leadership for the egregious and reprehensible conduct they endured during their employment at the Restaurant,” said David Krauss, an attorney at Bantle & Levy. “This case underscores the importance of protecting employees from sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the workplace and ensuring that employers comply with applicable labor laws.”
The Complaint alleges that although the Manolakos Brothers objected to and reported the General Manager’s discriminatory behavior and sexual harassment to Patrizia’s senior leadership, which failed to take any action to address or prevent his unlawful conduct. Due to Patrizia’s failure to intervene on their behalves, the Manolakos Brothers ultimately deemed themselves constructively discharged and were forced to resign from employment due to the unbearable conditions they were made to endure.
The Manolakos Brothers further allege that Patrizia’s violated applicable federal and state labor laws by, among other things, failing to pay them the minimum hourly wage they were entitled to and failing to pay them the considerable overtime pay they were due.
Prior to filing suit against Patrizia’s, the Manolakos Brothers allege that they sent a letter to Patrizia’s regarding the unlawful discrimination and sexual harassment they had been subject to and its violations of federal and state labor laws. In response, the Manolakos Brothers claim that they received threatening calls from individuals employed by or otherwise affiliated with Patrizia’s at the direction of its senior leadership. For instance, Evan Manolakos (who has since filed a police report with his local precinct in Staten Island) alleges that he received a call from a caller with a blocked number who, referencing the Manolakos Brother’s letter to Patrizia’s regarding its unlawful conduct, warned him to “just be careful with yourself” and threatened “you f—–g dumb Greek scumbag, I’ll be at [your current employer’s] watch your back scumbag.”
The Manolakos Brothers seek lost wages, pain and suffering damages estimated to exceed $600,000 due to the unlawful discriminatory treatment and sexual harassment they were subject to, unpaid wages, liquidated damages, punitive damages of at least $1,000,000, statutory penalties for Patrizia’s failure to comply with applicable labor laws, and attorneys’ fees.
