Adding Sexual Harassment Prevention to the Menu: Sexual Harassment Prevention as a Condition of Food Safety Licensing in the Restaurant Industry

From 2005 through 2015, the food service industry has held the dubious distinction as the industry with the greatest number of EEOC sexual harassment claims. Given the occupational hazard created by sexual harassment, and the emotional and physical toll that such behavior has on its victims, this article argues that comprehensive sexual harassment prevention should be a condition of the food handler’s licensing process for all food service establishments. The proposal to incorporate sexual harassment prevention into the business licensing process is not unprecedented. In 2018, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) proposed similar requirements for Nevada gaming establishments. As proposed, the sweeping regulations would have required far-reaching sexual harassment training for all employees. Although less stringent regulations were ultimately adopted, the Nevada gaming model for addressing sexual harassment can be adapted to the restaurant industry, which is already accustomed to rigorous workplace regulation. The imposition of additional regulatory conditions tied to the food handler’s license should lower incidents of sexual harassment and help drive a necessary shift in workplace culture away from endemic sexual harassment and towards civility and respect. From a business perspective, restaurants should embrace the opportunity to improve their tarnished reputations with respect to sexual harassment. In an era of increasing social intolerance for such behavior, the restaurant industry has an opportunity to take the lead in reducing sexual harassment claims, and to serve as a model for other service industries such as grocery, retail and beyond.