A longtime restaurant manager for the Copper Cellar Corporation has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the company and its owner, Mike Chase.
The employee, who worked for the company for 40 years, according to the federal lawsuit filed Sept. 15, says she was subjected to racial discrimination and a hostile work environment. She worked in a variety of positions, including assistant general manager and general manager at different restaurants Chase owns.
The documents say Chase made "explicitly race-based statements" about her, including that other employees did not like her because of her race. The lawsuit also says Chase made comments about the employee's weight, as well as her husband's.
Chase "would get intoxicated, harass or assault
one of his employees, proclaim he was the owner of the Copper Cellar Corporation and expressly state or intimate that there was nothing anyone could do to him," according to the lawsuit.
The employee told company managers about Chase's behavior, the lawsuit says, including a director of human resources, but nothing came from those conversations. The employee is seeking up to $1.2 million in compensatory damages, as well as $3 million in punitive damages.
Knox News reached out to the Copper Cellar Corporation but did not hear back.
A different employee filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in June against Chase and the Copper Cellar Corporation, saying she was subjected to, according to the lawsuit, "sexual harassment, a sexually hostile work environment, sex discrimination, hostile work environment based on sex and retaliation."
Chase opened his first restaurant, Copper Cellar on the Strip, more than 50 years ago. His restaurants include Calhoun's, Cappuccino's, Cherokee Grill, Chesapeake's, Corner 16 and Smoky Mountain Brewery.
The Copper Cellar family of restaurants includes seven brands across 19 locations in Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Lenoir City, Maryville, Oak Ridge and Pigeon Forge.
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna's Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Longtime employee files racial discrimination lawsuit against Mike Chase
