The owners of Amerigo Italian Restaurant, a well-known Memphis eatery, have agreed to pay out $60,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought forth by the EEOC, officials revealed. The EEOC alleged that the restaurant subjected a male employee to a hostile work environment due to his sexual orientation and then unjustly terminated him when he protested the mistreatment, FOX13 Memphis reported.

Aside from the monetary settlement, Amerigo's ownership groups J.H.S. Holdings, LLC and 4Top Hospitality Group, will also be implementing revised anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies, these policies will be distributed, and a notice will be posted in the workplace about the settlement, this will also include specialized training for all supervisors, managers, and employees, as WREG disclosed. Additionally, the company is compelled to provide reports on all future complaints about sexual harassment or retaliation within the workplace.

In response to the lawsuit and settlement, a spokesperson for Amerigo Italian Restaurant stated, "Amerigo has and will continue to promote a robust policy of inclusion for all communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, and is welcoming of all applicants and employees who want to be part of our team," adding that the company has a "zero-tolerance policy on discrimination and harassment," and that while they "adamantly deny any wrongdoing," they are "pleased to have resolved the unjustifiable and categorically false claims brought against us in this matter," according to a statement obtained by WREG.

In a separate but somewhat related incident, another Memphis company, Barrett Distribution Centers, LLC, was also fined $60,000 by the EEOC for a retaliation case where they removed and ultimately fired an employee for speaking out against national origin discrimination, the wrongdoing of this action was clear and the company has faced consequences for its actions, News Talk 989 reported.