Ten employees of Sweetgreen, the popular quick-serve salads chain, are suing the company for allegedly fostering a toxic workplace culture at three Manhattan locations, saying that Black employees are systematically harassed and discriminated against.
The lawsuit, filed in Bronx Supreme Court on Thursday, claims that managers at the salad outpost used the N-word to describe Black employees, passed them over for promotions, and frequently demeaned them while working.
Thursday’s court filing also alleges that female workers were subjected to inappropriate touching and verbal sexual harassment.
“For too many Black employees, having to listen to managers and co-workers use racial slurs is just a part of their daily work environment,” said Avi Mermelstein, a lawyer representing the disgruntled employees. “That’s both wrong and illegal.”
In addition to suing the company, the employees also named two managers (referred to as “Head Coaches” by the chain) in the lawsuit — Donald Izquierdo and Edwin Ventura, who are both Hispanic.
Izquierdo managed the Sweetgreen location at 55th Street and Park Avenue and oversaw six of the plaintiffs, while Ventura previously led the 67 Wall St. location and managed the other four workers.
The plaintiffs claim that both managers used derogatory language to demean Black employees and failed to reprimand other employees when they did so.
Izquierdo and Ventura also allegedly denied promotions to Black employees, and assigned them to less-than-desirable working shifts, while favoring non-Black workers for advance and hours.
In one instance, a plaintiff allegedly overheard a group of employees talking among themselves, saying “These N… think they’re going to move up. They’re not.”
A third manager, who led the Sweetgreen’s Meatpacking location at 32 Gansevoort St., and is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, also fostered a toxic workplace environment, where employees would refer to Black workers as the N-word “monkeys,” according to the lawsuit.
Despite their complaints, the employees allege that Sweetgreen failed to intervene, and instead allowed the harassment to fester.
A spokesperson for the company, which went public in 2021, claimed they “do not tolerate” the behavior alleged by the plaintiffs.
“At Sweetgreen, we are committed to diversity as well as a safe and inclusive workplace. We take these accusations seriously and do not tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination, or unsafe working conditions,” said the spokesperson. “We are unable to comment further on any pending legal matters.”
The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages in response to their allegations.
