CHULA VISTA, Calif. - A lawsuit filed Thursday claims four former employees of Chick-fil-A in Chula Vista were sexually harassed, fired, then reported to immigration.
Norma Duarte said she is filing a lawsuit after her boss harassed her several times in a back area of the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 2089 Olympic Parkway in Eastlake Terraces.
"He would put me in the refrigerator, and he would touch me and grope me," Duarte said.
Gustavo Angulo, the restaurant's manager, repeatedly harassed her and three other female employees over the past two years, Duarte said.
The women allege in their lawsuit that when they complained to the restaurant's owner, Mandy Medlin, they were ignored. They also claim Chick-fil-A's corporate headquarters ignored their complaints and instead of taking action to stop the harassment, the three of the women were fired.
According to the women, management also reported them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in an attempt to have them deported.
Duarte’s attorney would not say whether Duarte was in the country illegally.
"It does not matter if a person has documents or lacks documents," her attorney said. "Their immigration status is irrelevant in terms of the damages that one can ask for from the Superior Court. The law against sexual harassment applies the same to everyone in California."
Angulo and Medlin denied commenting on behalf of the lawsuit.
Don Perry, Vice President of Public Relations for Chick-fil-A responded, "Since this matter is a legal situation, we are not in a position to comment at this point."
In the lawsuit, Duarte and the other women asked for monetary damages and for the judge to order sexual harassment training at the company.
