AMHERST, N.Y. — The owner of a popular Northtowns restaurant is facing a lawsuit filed by the federal government charging him with sexual harassment.
Paperwork filed Thursday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claims Paul Pelczynski, who also serves as the establishment's president and general manager, subjected female employees to a hostile work environment.
According to the EEOC lawsuit, Pelczynski made unwelcome sexual advances and comments to them, including requests for sex, repeated invitations for drinks, dinner and sharing a hotel room and comments about their bodies and those of customers.
The agency also charges Pelczynski engaged in inappropriate contact with the female employees, including grabbing their buttocks, kissing them and routinely brushing up against them. The EEOC says he also displayed pornography at work in view of employees and sent a group text to them with pornography in the background.
Lastly, it's alleged the restaurant fired female employees who objected to Pelczynski's conduct or rejected his advances and that other female employees quit because they could no longer endure the hostile work environment.
The lawsuit was filed after the EEOC first tried to reach a settlement through its conciliation process. The agency is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages for those affected, as well as relief designed to "remedy and prevent future sexual harassment in the workplace".
"Owning a business is not a license to sexually harass employees," said Jeffrey Burstein, regional attorney for the EEOC's New York District Office. "Business owners have a duty to protect employees from sexual harassment, and the EEOC is prepared to take strong action where an owner abuses his authority."
Robert Boreanaz, attorney for the restaurant, gave the following statement to 2 On Your Side in response to the lawsuit:
"These allegations are irresponsible and ridiculously vague. No dates, times or names of employees were provided. The restaurant has been in business for over 40 years and employed thousands of staff members. This is the first of any claim of this nature. The restaurant is still up and running and doing wonderfully with a full complement of staff and we intend to challenge these allegations in court."
In an on-camera interview Thursday afternoon, Boreanaz said that as the case moves forward, the restaurant will stay open.
"My client has been in business for over 40 years. He's hired and had over a thousand employees and the business is doing great, and this is the very first occasion there's ever been a complaint of this nature and if we had more details, we'd probably get to the bottom of it a little better, but unfortunately, there's only one person that's been identified, and we certainly plan, and will, vigorously defend the case," said Boreanaz.
Boreanaz said his client reacted with disappointment when he found out about the allegations.
"Disappointment that he would have to incur this kind of a public image. He's proud of his business and the staff that he runs. And he just wants to serve great seafood in Western New York," said Boreanaz.