A 41-year-old Colchester woman has sued the Glastonbury Chili's Grill & Bar restaurant claiming both sexual harassment and owed wages.

Plaintiff Jill McAvoy's lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 10 in New London Superior Court, comes on the heels of numerous settlements and lawsuits throughout the country against the eatery chain.

Those cases include a sexual harassment and retaliation claim against the eatery in Colorado in April 2019; a tip-sharing lawsuit against Chili's was settled for $250,000 in Pennsylvania in 2017; and two former Chili's employees in central New York sued in February 2019 claiming they were underpaid.

No one from Dallas-based Brinker International Inc., the owner of the Chili's chain, responded to a request for comment Wednesday.

In the Connecticut case, McAvoy's attorney, Waterbury-based solo practitioner Michelle Holmes, told the Connecticut Law Tribune on Wednesday she'd consider joining a class action down the road. "I haven't done anything to solicit new clients, but my client may know others that might come to me."

At issue with regard to pay, Holmes said, are claims the chain underpaid McAvoy "tens of thousands of dollars" in the 11 years she worked there by not paying her full minimum wage for non-server work. McAvoy quit in July 2019 "because everything became too overwhelming for her," Holmes said.

McAvoy, the lawsuit says, started the job at $5.59 an hour and was making $6 an hour when she quit. The law allows eateries to pay such wages as long as the employees can earn gratuities, or tips. But, the lawsuit alleges, there were many times McAvoy was doing non-service work, such as washing dishes, cleaning up and doing set-ups for special events, when she was still getting paid the lower rate. The state's minimum wage increased from $10.10 an hour to $11 an hour Oct. 1

Near the end of her employment, Holmes said, "approximately half the hours she was working were relegated to doing non-server work."

Holmes continued: "Discovery will be an important component of this case" to determine exactly how much her client is owed.

Toward the end of McAvoy's tenure, Holmes said, "they'd have her punch out but stay and wait for the manager on duty to close. She was also like an event organizer to some extent." Holmes said McAvoy was often required to handle extra events, including things like "Daddy Daughter Night" and Thursday theme nights.

"My client is a single mom and a hard worker," Holmes said. "She worked many hours and many years for Chili's and this is more than frustrating for her. It took a toll on her emotionally."

The lawsuit also alleges McAvoy was sexually harassed by a male dishwasher who groped her on a regular basis. Management did nothing to stop the alleged abuse, Holmes claims.

"The sexual harassment was ongoing and was a problem," Holmes said. "They did nothing to stop it. Anytime someone complains to an employer about being sexually harassed, they should do what is required by law. They could have taken steps to rectify the situation, whether that was to transfer him or fire him, but they did nothing."

Representing the local Chili's is Allison Dearington of Hartford-based Jackson Lewis. Dearington did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The defendant, Chili's, had not filed a response to the lawsuit as of Wednesday.

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