Former Taco Bell employee Alana Bechiom has filed a lawsuit against the company over an alleged party that descended into drunken chaos, including open sex.
As reported by KTLA, Bechiom's lawsuit claims that her supervisor invited her to a Christmas party at the San Pedro Taco Bell in December 2022. When she arrived at the restaurant, where she also worked, she brought a bowl of guacamole and "discovered that [her supervisor] covered the windows of the restaurant with wrapping paper." She noted that the cameras in the lobby of the restaurant were also covered.
Her coworkers were provided alcohol by their supervisor, even though several staff members were evidently "overserved." When she left the restaurant briefly around midnight, she came back in to allegedly see one of her co-workers “having sex with his wife in front of everyone at the party." The wife of the co-worker was also kissing the woman who served as the restaurant's manager and another female co-worker.
Bechiom was "shocked, disgusted, and outraged" by the open sexual encounter and left, only to return to gather the guacamole she brought to the party. However, when she returned she saw that the two female co-workers who engaged in the sexual act were throwing up. In fact, one of them vomited in her guacamole bowl.
She later reported the incident to the company's human resources department and the Colorado-based franchisee, Alvarado Restaurant Group. Those involved in the sexual encounter were fired, but Bechiom has alleged she was threatened and had her car window shattered in retaliation. The two companies, she said, “did nothing about these threats and instead told [her] that they were transferring her to a new location rather than disciplining the employees who threatened her."
Bechiom later quit Taco Bell and said in the complaint that she "has suffered actual, consequential and incidental financial losses." She has accused Taco Bell of violating anti-discrimination laws. In a statement, a Taco Bell spokesperson said it takes the claims "very seriously."
