The New York attorney general is investigating allegations of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination at the Spotted Pig, the West Village restaurant where employees last year complained of a highly sexualized and coercive atmosphere. On Monday, the office of Barbara D. Underwood, the state attorney general, issued a subpoena to the Spotted Pig’s holding company and its majority owner, the restaurateur Ken Friedman, according to a person with direct knowledge of the subpoena who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was not yet public. The subpoena, part of a civil rights investigation that the person said the office had been conducting for months, seeks records related both to Mr. Friedman and the celebrity chef Mario Batali, who was an investor and frequent visitor at the restaurant. The subpoena seeks, among other things, any records of sexually suggestive communications between Mr. Friedman and any employees, including nude photos or descriptions of the attractiveness or sexual availability of employees and job applicants. It also seeks video footage of Mr. Batali with female employees in the restaurant’s third-floor party room, as well as records of complaints related to sex harassment or discrimination based on employees’ gender or pregnancy.

Source: New York Times August 20, 2018 19:52 UTC