Sample Internal Complaint: Sexual Harassment
My name is Felicia Hightower and I am a sandwich maker at Subs-To-Go, Store #003, located at 5307
McArdle Road in Phoenix, Arizona. I have worked at Subs-To-Go since November, 2017. I worked at the
Main Street location in Mesa, AZ for several months in 2018, but always maintained between 20 and 25
hours a week at the McArdle Phoenix location. I write this letter to file a complaint against my co-
worker, John, for sexual harassment. I do not know his last name. John is a part-time employee and
sandwich maker like me, and we often work the same shift. He started working at the McArdle location
December of last year.
Since our first shift together, John has tried to get with me. The first day we worked together, he asked
me if I had a boyfriend. I said it’s not his business, but he kept pressing me about it. I finally said that I
don’t have time for a relationship. For the next several days, John asked me questions about my sex life
and told me details about his. I told him to leave me alone because I had work to do, and he said that I
was grumpy because I wasn’t “getting laid” and that all I had to do was ask and he would “fix that for
me.” These comment made me feel nervous, but I tried to tune him out and just attend to customers.
This kind of conversation continued over the next several weeks. John and I often work alone in the
front of the restaurant. A manager is usually around but mostly spends her time in her office in the back
section of the restaurant. During weekday shifts, a third employee works in the kitchen to help with hot
orders during the lunch rush.
Oh January 6, 2019, I came into work on the same shift as John. A third employee, Wilma, was working
in the back that day handling hot sandwich orders. I had recently cut my hair short and John made a big
deal about it. He said I was ruining myself and that people were going to think I was a lesbian. Again, I
ignored his comments. After the lunch rush ended, I went to the walk-in fridge in the back of the
restaurant to get more sandwich meats. I didn’t realize it until I was already there, but John had
followed me into the walk-in. He cornered me and grabbed me by the waist. He said he wanted to find
out if I really was gay after all. I pushed him off of me and ran out.
Wilma saw me run out and probably saw John follow me into the fridge. When I returned to the front, I
was freaking out, but didn’t know what to do. I went to the office and told Karen, the manager on duty,
that I was feeling sick and had to do home. As I walked out of the restaurant, John laughed and said he
couldn’t wait to see me tomorrow. I am afraid to return to work for fear that John will attack me again.
