Two women who filed a sexual harassment complaint against the Mexican restaurant where they worked have had their case sent back to trial court after an appeal.
On Sept. 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded Equal Opportunity Employment Commission vs Simbaki Ltd.
The case began with Kimberly Kulig and Laura Baatz, who worked for the Berryhill Baja Grill & Cantina on Montrose Street in Houston.
The claim that during their employment, the owner and operator of the franchise sexually harassed them on numerous occasions. The women filed a Title VII lawsuit against Berryhill Hot Tamales Corp.
The district court dismissed their suit for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
The court concluded that the parties represented by counsel may too invoke the exceptions of the named-party requirement.
Because the district court granted summary judgment on the grounds that Kulig and Baatz, as represented parties, could not rely on the exceptions to the named-party requirement, the district court did not determine whether they could fit within either the Glus v. G.C. Murphy Co. or Eggleston v. Chicago Journeymen Plumbers' Local Union No. 130 exceptions.
"Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded for further proceedings," the appeals court wrote.