Chicago- A onetime Hooters “girl” suing her former employer testified Friday that she not only had to undress in front of peepholes in the restaurant’s changing room, but three supervisors sexually harassed her.
Joanna Ciesielski, 26, claimed that one manager asked her out on a date, another slapped her on the butt and invited her to his hot tub, while a third rubbed her shoulders, ran his hands through her hair and referred to her by an offensive, sexual nickname.
Ciesielski worked at the Hooters at 8225 W. Higgins Rd., in Chicago. She’s suing the company for millions of dollars, claiming a pattern of sexual harassment existed at the restaurant and management did nothing to stop it. The federal trial is under way before U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve.
Ciesielski said she believes kitchen employees drilled the peepholes and watched her and other servers undress. One time she said she heard laughter as she disrobed.
“They made me feel scared, they made me feel dirty,” she said. “I felt like I never felt before. I was just ashamed, embarrassed.”
Shot video of holes
But under intense cross examination Friday afternoon by Hooters attorney Raymond Pesavento, Ciesielski admitted she couldn’t say for sure whether someone was on the other side of the wall. She also admitted she knew she could call a toll-free number or the corporate office to report harassment but didn’t.
But Ciesielski said the harassment was serious. She said the kitchen staff would comment on her breasts and butt.
Ciesielski said she complained to the general manager about the peepholes and was told to leave a note for maintenance.
But Pesavento tried painting Ciesielski as someone more interested in building a case against Hooters than reporting harassment. He suggested she shot video footage of the holes only for her attorneys and never complained.
He also raised doubts over whether anyone could actually see through any of the holes. Managers said the changing room was formerly used for storage and walls could be torn up from old shelving.
Jurors watched two videos of the changing room for the first time Friday. Ciesielski can be seen in reflections wearing her Hooters outfit as she shoots the footage. Holes appear throughout the room, including a large hole in the wall near full-length mirrors. Ciesielski pulls a straw in and out of that one to show its depth.
‘They knew of the holes’
Ciesielski lost her temper when she was asked why she never showed photos or video of the holes to her managers.
“I complain verbally. I work there and I complain. I have to show them pictures to get the point?” she said. “It was where we worked. They saw the holes. They knew of the holes.”
Three current and former Hooters assistant managers testified earlier this week that Ciesielski never complained to them about someone watching her undress.