A former Olive Garden waitress is suing the restaurant owner and the restaurant management company in a federal court for injuries she claims were caused by employees working at the restaurant. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. We will talk about the Olive Garden lawsuit settlement in a moment.
Olive Garden Lawsuit
Spikener is alleging that she experienced multiple injuries at the hands of her co-workers while working at the Olive Garden. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages on claims that include her being subjected to constant verbal abuse, sexual harassment, physical abuse and battery, and that the restaurant failed to properly handle, inspect and prepare the food at its dining establishments.
She is also suing the parent company of the restaurant for negligent marketing practices, claiming the firm marketed unhealthy foods as popular dishes. In addition, she is seeking compensatory and punitive damages on claims that the Olive Garden failed to properly train its employees on healthy eating and nutrition, that it promoted an unhealthy diet and inadequate meal replacement options, and that the meals were of such poor quality that some of them could not even pass inspection by health inspectors.
Additionally, she is suing the parent company of the restaurant for failing to train its employees about serving only one item at a time, which was a violation of the Texas mandatory serving of three full courses per customer.
The group that seeks higher guaranteed wages for restaurant workers is suing Olive Garden for, among other things, failing to appropriately train its staff in basic food preparation methods and dietary restrictions, for failing to provide meal replacement options, and for failing to provide any training regarding the use of table salt or alternative forms of seasoning.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Lisa Olson of the Texas Disability Law Center in Austin, claims that Olive Garden’s reliance on fast food and prepared food is detrimental to employees because these service standards are not legally enforceable.
She further claims that some menu items may not be available at all restaurants, including hot dogs. She is seeking certification from the American College of Rheumatology, stating that her client suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome after eating at Olive Garden. In addition, she is seeking class action status and compensatory and general damages.
According to the complaint, plaintiffs’ counsel, David Zick, says that the defendant failed to make reasonable accommodations for plaintiffs’ disabilities.
He claims the defendant failed to hire a disabled employee for an essential position, and that the server used salt instead of regular table salt when cooking meals. The complaint further claims that the server failed to provide dietary limitations, such as fish in the soup and chicken fingers.
Further, the server did not appropriately inform plaintiffs that portions of their meals could be off limits due to their disabilities. Furthermore, Zick contends that plaintiffs were not offered substitute foods or requests for modifications to accommodate their diet. In addition, he contends that the server failed to give plaintiff’s his prescription for pain killers immediately after the conclusion of the meal service.
This is just one of many legal battles currently going on between different parties in this food court battle.
The complaint names both plaintiffs and defendants, but only one has been served yet. An investigation found that both defendants and plaintiffs have similar claims. So far, a former defendant has filed a motion to dismiss stating that a claim for a “case of unforeseen and incidental injury” is not within the scope of the class action law firm’s Class Action lawsuit against olive garden. A representative from the law firm did not return a call seeking additional comment on this article.
