Gay Waiter Sues Upscale NYC Restaurant

NEW YORK CITY, NY -- A former waiter at upscale Manhattan restaurant Jean Georges filed a suit against the restaurant Friday, claiming he was repeatedly harassed because of his sexual orientation, and then ignored by managers when he complained about the abuse.

Joseph Bassani is seeking unspecified damages, claiming the restaurant's chef de cuisine and other employees started harassing him when they learned that he was gay. When he told management about several demeaning incidents, his superiors did nothing.

One of the incidents happened when the management hired a prostitute to perform at a party. According to Bassani, several of the participants encouraged the prostitute to charge at Bassani, straddling him and gyrating "within inches of his face."

Bassani likened the incident to an assault and quit the job last January, unable to endure the continued harassment. After he quit, Bassani claims the restaurant gave him a bad reference when he applied for a new job.

Representatives for restaurant declined to comment on the allegations, saying the company had yet to receive the suit.