Salad chain Sweetgreen accused of race, sex bias at NYC stores

By Daniel Wiessner

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Sweetgreen Inc is being sued by a group of Black and female employees at seven of the salad chain's New York City locations who claim they faced racial and sexual harassment.

The complaint filed on Thursday in New York state court in the Bronx, which broadens a lawsuit first filed in March, claims that workers faced anti-Black racial slurs and female employees were subjected to sexual comments and unwanted touching.

Managers also refused to promote Black workers and showed preferential treatment to Hispanic employees, according to the lawsuit.

Los Angeles-based Sweetgreen in a statement said the company is committed to diversity and a safe and inclusive workplace.

"We take these accusations seriously and do not tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination, or unsafe working conditions," the company said.

The 10 plaintiffs claim that Sweetgreen managers and the company's human resources department ignored complaints about the alleged conduct for years. All of the plaintiffs are Black and eight are female.

The lawsuit was originally filed in March by two Sweetgreen employees.

The plaintiffs accused Sweetgreen and two individual managers of race and sex discrimination in violation of New York City law. Under the city law, employers can be held liable for unlawful conduct by managers.

The workers are seeking damages for economic losses and emotional distress, and punitive damages for what they said was Sweetgreen's "malice or reckless indifference to plaintiffs' rights." (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Lisa Shumaker)