Il Fornaio to Pay $3 Million to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement on October 13, 2026. It ends a lawsuit the agency filed in 2022 in federal court in Los Angeles, EEOC v. Il Fornaio (America) LLC, et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-05992, on behalf of a class of female workers.

What does the EEOC allege?

According to the EEOC, supervisors and coworkers at multiple Il Fornaio locations repeatedly sexually harassed female employees, many of them teenagers. The agency's allegations include groping, sexual comments, and requests for sexual favors (EEOC).

The EEOC also alleges that when the women complained, the company failed to stop the harassment and retaliated against many of them, and that several had no choice but to resign. HR Dive reports that the lawsuit claimed HR dismissed or failed to investigate many of the complaints and that no corrective action was taken against the alleged harassers (HR Dive).

The lawsuit was brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the main federal law against workplace sex discrimination. Il Fornaio has 15 restaurants in California and Nevada and is owned by Tokyo-based Create Restaurant Group, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

Beatriz Andre, acting regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles District, said in the agency's announcement that "we learned of at least 100 women negatively affected by Il Fornaio's work environment."

These are allegations. No court or jury made findings on them.

What does Il Fornaio say?

Il Fornaio denies the allegations. Matt Foley, the company's director of marketing, told Nation's Restaurant News that the company took steps to prevent and correct harassment and that there was no companywide pattern of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. He said the company settled "to avoid the burden, expense, and uncertainty of continued litigation" and that "the settlement should not be construed as guilt" (Nation's Restaurant News).

Foley also told HR Dive that Il Fornaio "takes harassment seriously" and has increased its efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination. The consent decree states that it is not an admission of liability.

What does the settlement require?

Under a three-year consent decree, Il Fornaio will pay $3 million and provide other relief. According to HR Dive, that includes:

• Three hours of live, interactive, in-person training each year for HR staff on their duty to report harassment, take preventive and corrective steps, and investigate complaints
• Similar training for general managers, assistant managers, chefs, and sous chefs

The women who came forward have not been publicly identified.

Why this case matters

Restaurants employ a lot of young workers, and many of them are in their first job. A teenager working a host stand or bussing tables may not know there's a harassment policy, who to report to, or that the law protects them from being punished for speaking up. The EEOC's case focuses on exactly that gap: complaints that, according to the agency, went nowhere.

What this means for California workers

If you work in California, you're protected by both federal law and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and FEHA often goes further.

• Your employer has to try to prevent harassment. California requires employers to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent harassment (Gov. Code § 12940(k)).
• Reporting is protected. Punishing you for complaining about harassment, or for helping with an investigation, is illegal retaliation (Gov. Code § 12940(h)).
• You don't have to report to your boss. Your employer's complaint process can't require you to complain directly to your immediate supervisor, and it has to provide a timely response and an impartial investigation (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 11023(b)).
• Harassment by coworkers counts. Your employer is responsible for coworker harassment if it knew or should have known and didn't take immediate and appropriate action (Gov. Code § 12940(j)(1)).
• There are deadlines. You generally have three years to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. If your employer has 15 or more employees, you can also file with the EEOC, generally within 300 days in California (EEOC Los Angeles District Office).

If something like this is happening at your job, start by reading our guide on how to report sexual harassment at work, and keep a private, dated record of what happens. Our guide on how long you have to file a claim explains the deadlines in more detail.

Sources: EEOC press release (Oct. 13, 2026); Nation's Restaurant News (Oct. 14, 2026); HR Dive (Oct. 16, 2026).

This article is general information about California and federal law as of its date, not legal advice for your situation. Laws change, and the right move depends on your facts.