HOUSTON - Brazos County resident Teresa McKinney is taking her former employer to court for firing her in light of her complaints about alleged sexual harassment, recent court documents say.
A lawsuit filed Dec. 27, 2013, in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas shows M&W Restaurants Inc. terminated McKinney though it did not address the complaints.
McKinney worked as a cashier at Pepe's Mexican Cafe, an eatery owned and operated by the defendant company, at the time of the events for which she sues.
A co-worker by the name of J.R. Mitchell began to sexually harass the plaintiff in December 2011, the suit alleges.
According to the original petition, Mitchell "would harass Ms. McKinney every working day" by touching her buttocks and giving her body looks in a lustful manner.
She says the most recent incident occurred on March 5, 2013, when Mitchell purportedly grabbed her by the waist and "rubbed his clothed genitals on her buttocks."
The suit further claims that the plaintiff reported Mitchell, who joins M&W as a co-defendant, to management to no avail and she was wrongfully terminated on March 6, 2013.
"The store manager failed to offer an adequate remedy to the harassment," it says.
A jury trial is requested.
Attorney Keith Lovelace of the Law Offices of Keith Lovelace in Houston is representing McKinney.
Case No. 4:13-CV-3766
Cashier alleges Mexican restaurant fired her for complaining about sexual harassment
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