Ex-employee’s suit against Newport bar alleges sexual harassment and stolen tips
A former employee at American Junkie has sued the Newport Beach bar, alleging that a manager stole his tips and sexually harassed staff members by showing a video of himself having sex in the bar’s back room.
Ross Byer was a bartender at American Junkie for just more than two years until he was fired last year for complaining about his boss’s behavior, according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 8 in Orange County Superior Court.
Byer claims that he and other American Junkie employees had to endure an oppressive “sexually charged environment” created by the bar’s general manager, Chase Irwin, and manager Michael Adam Royer.
Irwin, Royer and two companies the suit says own American Junkie — Nicole Entertainment and Arlyne Newport — are named as defendants.
Lawyers for the defendants have denied Byer’s allegations in court papers. They did not immediately return a phone message Friday seeking comment. A call to the bar also went unanswered.
Royer and Irwin would talk frequently about their sexual encounters, “many of which were with employees of American Junkie and occurred in the manager’s office,” the lawsuit states.
In one instance, the suit alleges, Royer showed Byer and Irwin a video of Royer having sex in the back room. Security cameras had captured the scene, and Royer recorded the footage on his cellphone, Byer alleges.
“Mr. Irwin did nothing to stop Mr. Royer from invading the privacy of the young woman [in the video] by showing the video to Mr. Byer,” the suit alleges. “In fact, Mr. Irwin appeared to be enjoying viewing the video.”
The suit also accuses Royer of committing sexual battery by biting a waitress on the buttocks as she walked past him.
“Several cocktail waitresses complained about the bad behavior,” the suit states.
Byer also alleges Royer would take a share of the staff’s tips even though, as a manager, he wasn’t entitled to them. According to the lawsuit, Royer would lie about the number of hours he worked to get a bigger share of the tip pool.
The suit alleges this continued despite Byer’s objections.
Byer also claims he was told to ring up portions of alcohol sales as “ice” in order to dodge a liquor license requirement that 50% of the establishment’s sales be food.
He also alleges that employees routinely didn’t receive their proper lunch or rest breaks.
On March 30, 2015, one day after Byer complained again, he was fired for being “unhappy,” according to the lawsuit.
Byer claims he’s still owed about $700 in overtime pay. In addition to that money, the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Byer is represented by Katrina Foley, an attorney specializing in employment law who also is a Costa Mesa City Council member.
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Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
