Ground Zero Biloxi to pay $35,000 in EEOC settlement

Ground Zero Biloxi LLC, the operator of the Ground Zero Blues Club in Biloxi, Mississippi, has agreed to pay $35,000 and provide other relief to settle a federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The lawsuit alleged that a co-owner of the music venue and restaurant subjected an assistant manager to repeated unwanted sexual comments and physical contact. The EEOC further charged that company managers failed to protect the employee from the conduct and that the company subsequently fired the assistant manager in September 2023 in retaliation for reporting the harassment to the chief financial officer.

The settlement resolves allegations that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agreement was reached without requiring the allegations to be decided at trial.