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The
culture of unwanted groping, kissing, hugging, sexual advances
and explicit comments at Babbo, Lupa and Del Posto broke New
York human rights laws, Attorney General Letitia James said in a
statement.
After waiters and other workers came forward with complaints,
Batali sold his stake in his restaurants in 2019. Del Posto
closed in April.
"When my female coworkers and I were being sexually harassed by
multiple people at Del Posto, the restaurant's leadership made
us feel as if we were asking for it — as if it is a rite of
passage to be harassed at work," Juliana Imperati, a former line
cook at Del Posto, said in a statement provided by the attorney
general's office.
The attorney general's investigation found that Batali himself
grabbed a female server's hand and pulled it towards his crotch,
and that he showed a male server an "unwelcome" pornographic
video, according to a summary of the settlement.
Male managers at the restaurants made crass sexual comments,
told female employees to wear make-up and insinuated to some of
them that they should get breast implants. Some were told they
could not be promoted to captain because they were a "girl."
Batali could not immediately be reached for comment, but told
the New York Times he would not be publicly discussing the
settlement.
The $600,000 settlement will be paid by Batali; his partner,
Joseph Bastianich; and their management company, Pasta
Resources, formerly known as B&B Hospitality.
In 2018, Batali denied any allegations of sexual assault, but
apologized for behavior that he acknowledged had been "deeply
inappropriate."
Prosecutors in Boston in 2019 separately charged Batali with
forcibly groping and kissing a woman at a restaurant in 2017. He
has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; additional reporting by Nate
Raymond; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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