‘I’m your boss.’ Bojangles’ supervisor harassed and touched workers, NC lawsuit says
Close hugs, playing with women’s hair and repeated touching prompted a Bojangles’ manager in North Carolina to complain of sexual harassment by her immediate supervisor.
Then Bojangles’ fired her, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.
Stacie Harris had worked for the biscuit giant for 10 years when she was abruptly terminated for “unethical practices” in 2018, the complaint states. Now she’s suing for discrimination and retaliation.
“(Area Director Tommy) Faber came to Harris’s store and began touching her arms and hands again,” the lawsuit states. “Harris told him to get his hands off of her, to which he responded, ‘Ben said I’m your boss and what I say goes.’”
“Ben” is referring to Ben Boyd, who was director of operations at Bojangles’ — and Faber’s supervisor — until 2019, according to his LinkedIn page.
A representative for Bojangles’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
According to the complaint, Harris began working for the company in 2008.
She was unit director of a store in King — roughly 15 miles northwest of Winston-Salem — in January 2018 when Faber, as a regional manager, became her supervisor.
A unit director is similar to a store manager, counsel for Harris confirmed.
Faber made Harris uncomfortable during their first meeting by playing with her hair, touching her arm and giving her a “close hug,” the lawsuit states.
He reportedly continued this behavior with her and other female employees during multiple visits to the restaurant. According to the lawsuit, Harris complained to Boyd and Human Resources, prompting a meeting with Boyd and Faber.
“Harris then explained to Boyd that Faber had been touching and hugging both her and other female employees and making them uncomfortable,” the complaint states. “Boyd’s response was that Harris did not like change and that she needed to give Faber a chance.”
He later told her that “she needed to get used to Faber because he was her boss,” counsel for Harris said in the lawsuit.
Boyd and Faber laterretaliated against her by refusing to make necessary repairs at her store and by leaving her off emails, according to the complaint.
When Harris met with Faber again “to work out their differences,” he reportedly gave her a “another close hug.”
Shortly thereafter, Harris was reportedly on vacation when she received numerous complaints from employees of Faber hanging out at the restaurant and making everyone uncomfortable, her counsel said in the complaint.
She sent an email to HR containing their allegations of sexual harassment and a certified letter with statements from workers who witnessed his behavior. But when Harris showed up to check on the workers, Faber demanded she get off the property, the lawsuit states.
Bojangles’ reportedly fired her when she returned from vacation in May 2018.
“At no point was Harris interviewed for any investigation,” according to the complaint. “Boyd refused to explain what ‘unethical practices’ meant or name any specific events that would explain her termination. This was the first formal discipline Harris had received in ten years of service to Bojangles’.”
Harris makes claims for sex discrimination and retaliation and is seeking compensatory damages.
