Chicago- A federal judge has upheld the $275,000 jury award to a former waitress at Hooters, the restaurant chain known for scantily clad servers, in a lawsuit over peepholes in a dressing room.

The damages were awarded Nov. 23 to Joanna Ciesielski, a former Hooters waitress who alleged in a lawsuit that she found peepholes in a dressing room and that she had been sexually harassed by managers.

Attorneys for the Atlanta-based restaurant chain contested the damages in a motion, arguing that they should not have been awarded because Ciesielski failed to prove at trial that she was harassed by the company’s upper-management.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve denied the motion in a ruling made public Tuesday.

St. Eve wrote in her ruling that the jury “could have concluded” that Hooters failed to comply with the law “after it became aware of Ciesielski’s complaints of the recurring holes in the changing room walls, and the sexual comments and the touching by other Hooters’ staff.”

Phone calls to Hooters’ attorneys seeking comment Tuesday were not immediately returned.

“I love the judge, I thought the judge gave me a great trial,” Ciesielski’s attorney John De Rose said.

During the trial, Ciesielski testified she heard laughter as she undressed alone in a changing room at the restaurant near O’Hare International Airport in April 2001. The adjoining room was a break room for employees.

Ciesielski, who worked at the restaurant while attending college, also testified that a number of assistant managers touched her inappropriately and asked her out on dates.