Making It Too Hot for Chili’s to Ignore Sexual Harassment

This is a story to warm your heart this holiday season. It’s a story of a sister who cared enough to combat injustice publicly. It’s a lesson in how to answer the question “So what are we going to do about it?” by giving those responsible for the injustice some serious heartburn. It’s a tale of hanging in there long enough to be effective in fomenting the change that’s needed to bring about fairness and justice.

Rebekah Spicuglia is media manager at the Women’s Media Center (full disclosure-I’m on the WMC board and that’s how I heard about this). Furious that her sister had been sexually harassed repeatedly, yet repeatedly disregarded by mangement when she reported it, Rebekah decided to tell the world about it in the Huffington Post Tuesday:

When my sister, Rachel Spicuglia, a five-year employee of Chili’s Restaurant (owned by Brinker International), reported to her manager the escalating sexual harassment she was receiving from the cooks, which had culminated in an assault that morning in the walk-in refrigerator, the manager asked Rachel if the offending employee had gotten a “full cup” when he had grabbed her breasts…

Rachel ended up taking a leave of absence, filing EEOC Charge of Discrimination on August 12, but she continued to work with Chili’s to arrange transfer to another store. The transfer was approved, but Rachel’s calls to the store manager were never returned, and on December 9, Rachel received a letter from her health insurance, saying that her medical benefits were denied, due to the fact that she was terminated from her job…Apparently, Chili’s was unable to fire Rachel during her leave of absence, but under Georgia law, unlike other states, you can suffer sexual harassment and be fired.

So Rachel, an exemplary employee who had received many awards from the company and recognition from her colleagues, lost her job while the cooks who harassed her went unscathed. She understood her responsibility to report the harassment and began telling her boss last spring when the first incidents occurred. But it turned out not to be so simple or straightforward when her managers failed to take the appropriate steps.

INTENTIONING

Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women
Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good

The new book from Gloria Feldt about the future, taking the leadership lessons learned from this disruption and creating a better world for all through the power of intention.

Buy Now

Rachel’s lawyer, Steve Mixon, notes: “You can’t just sue. You have to go through the EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission], which can take a month, or multiple months to have an investigator assign to your case.” Mixon noted that it is in the interests of the employer – in this case Brinker International – to procrastinate, as many witnesses who might be willing to come forward are transient due to typical staff turnover in the service industry.

This is a direct result of the slashing of EEOC budget under the Bush Administration, which lacks the funds and staff it needs to protect women like Rachel. It has not only been under a hiring freeze since 2001, it has dramatically cut staff, most of them in enforcement. There are a mere 5 investigators covering the entire state of Georgia, as well as large portions of South Carolina. Needless to say there is a backlog of thousands of cases. Potential new cases are put off by the difficulty of filing, and often they are told to return or call back at a later time, because there is no one to do the intake.

In that scenario, women often become doubly victimized: first when the harassment occurs and then when the system that should protect them not only fails to do so but actually treats them as though they are the troublemakers.

They say that sunlight is the best disinfectant. So when the powers that be didn’t respond properly, Rebekah decided to try dragging the facts out into the bright lights of the public square–the virtual square of the blogosphere in this instance. Within a few hours, the post received dozens of comments, most of them from people hot under the collar with Chili’s. Then she did something else that made all the difference: she gave readers a simple but concrete way to take direct action by telling Brinker’s what they thought about the situation. (Take a moment to click that link now.)

Pretty soon, someone using the moniker BrinkerSpokeswoman posted this:

In response to the article concerning Rachel, several important facts warrant clarification which could have been accomplished by contacting our media relations team prior to publishing the story. Rachel has not been terminated and remains a full-time team member at Chili’s. We apologize for any confusion which arose from her interaction with one of our benefit providers. We are working with that provider to clarify her continued employment at Chili’s. Just as important, Brinker does not condone sexual harassment or retaliation and has strict policies and procedures in place for dealing with such claims. We work to train all team members on this issue to create a greater understanding of its effect and consequences.

Rachel has her job back. And Brinker’s isn’t likely to soon forget that the modern day equivalent of the adage “Never anger someone who buys ink by the barrel” is that on the internet, the “ink” spreads faster than Chili’s jalapenos send people grasping for water.

Rebekah’s gift to her sister is obvious, but there’s also an important present in the form of tips for all who want to “do something about it”, whatever “it” is at any given time:

First, have the courage to call out the injustice.

Second, know the laws and policies and use them; taking good notes about what does and doesn’t transpire.

Third, if that doesn’t work, keep turning up the heat by empowering others to take direct action individually and collectively.

And finally, be persistent enough to stay with it until the necessary changes are signed, sealed, and delivered.

Rebekah has promised to keep us informed of progress so that we can all participate in the public celebration or approbation once this is resolved. Stay tuned.

Gloria Feldt

GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”

As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.