Owner of A&W Accused of Ignoring Harassment Complaints

Staff Writer, Jun 20, 2007

Monday, June 18th started the lawsuit against a longtime Port Orchard business owner accused by former employees of lack of action against sexual harassment in his restaurant.

Richard D. "Rick" Gehring and his wife are being sued by two former employees of Buck's A&W Restaurant on Mile Hill Drive, saying Gehring knew — or should have known — of "persistent daily sexual harassment of female employees," attorney Timothy Kosnoff, representing the plaintiffs, said in his opening statement to jurors Monday.

The lawsuit was filed in June 2004 and alleges that a former supervisor at the restaurant, James D. Border Jr., "used his position of authority" over the two former employees, both females, to "coerce" them into "engaging in sexual interaction" in 2002.

Gehring's attorney, Peter Petrich, said Gehring didn't know of Border's activities.

Following criminal charges of sexual misconduct, Border was sentenced to 20 months in state prison in May 2003 for the incidents, some of which are said to have occurred at the restaurant.

The lawsuit says Gehring "knew or should have known" of Border's behavior and more broadly the sexual harassment allegedly occurring at the restaurant. It goes further, saying Gehring, "failed to take reasonable steps," to investigate Border's behavior and "to take adequate and prompt corrective action" against the harassment.

Other former and current A&W employees are expected to testify, both on behalf of the plaintiffs and of Gehring.

Border had been named in the lawsuit against Gehring and his company, Buck's of Port Orchard, which owns the A&W restaurant. But on Wednesday, all claims against Border were dismissed, leaving Gehring as the sole defendant.