A Christmas party at Taco Bell in the Los Angeles area descended into alcohol-fueled debauchery that included employees of the fast-food restaurant having three-way sex in full view of others, as well as drunken revelers vomiting in a guacamole dish, according to a lawsuit.
Alana Bechiom filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell and a Colorado-based franchise owner earlier this week, alleging that she was forced to quit her job as a cashier at the fast-food restaurant after reporting the incident to human resources. .
The lawsuit does not specify how much Bechiom is seeking in damages.
Bechiom alleged in the complaint that she, her sister and her sister’s partner attended a Christmas party at the Taco Bell location where she worked in San Pedro, California, on December 18 of last year.
She was invited to the party by her supervisor, Lidia Ruiz, whose name appears in the complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
According to the complaint, Bechiom and other employees were encouraged to bring food in a potluck-style buffet to the restaurant, located on South Gaffey Street in San Pedro.
Bechiom, who prepared a bowl of guacamole for the occasion, arrived at the party and “discovered that Ruiz covered the restaurant’s windows with wrapping paper” and “also covered the lobby cameras inside the restaurant,” according to the complaint.
The complaint accuses Ruiz of providing alcohol to employees, several of whom were “excessively served,” it is alleged.
Around midnight, Bechiom, who had been socializing outside the restaurant for a while, “returned to the restaurant” and witnessed a co-worker “having sexual relations with his wife in front of everyone at the party,” it was alleged. the complaint.
The co-worker’s wife was “leaning over” and “kissing both Ruiz and another co-worker,” the complaint alleges. The coworker received the pseudonym “Adriana.”
Bechiom was “shocked, disgusted and outraged by what she saw and ran away,” according to the complaint.
When he returned to the restaurant to retrieve his bowl of guacamole, he saw Ruiz and “Adriana” vomiting, the complaint alleges.
One of them vomited in the trash while the other vomited in Bechiom’s guacamole bowl, according to the complaint.
Days later, Bechiom reported the incident to human resources, as well as Alvarado Restaurant Group, the Colorado-based franchise that owns and operates the San Pedro location.
After a company investigation, Ruiz and the other co-workers involved in the alleged sex game were fired, the complaint states.
After his firing, “someone associated with” Ruiz and co-workers “retaliated” against Bechiom by “smashing[ing] through the left rear window” of his car at his home in the middle of the night, the complaint alleges.
Bechiom is then alleged to have received numerous threatening text messages, including one from a co-worker that said, “girl, I want to break your face.” [I don’t give a f–k] about your car.”
A co-worker allegedly sent her a text message insulting her by calling her “stupid,” a “whore,” and a “whore.”
Bechiom reported the incidents to the Los Angeles Police Department and his superiors at Taco Bell.
She alleged in the complaint that Taco Bell and the franchisee “did nothing about these threats and instead said [her] that they were transferring her to a new location instead of disciplining the employees who threatened her.”
On Christmas Eve, Bechiom “felt so overwhelmed by significant stress, physical and mental illness, and anxiety about the hostile work environment” that she “had no choice but to inform” her bosses that she was resigning, the complaint alleges.
Bechiom alleged in the complaint that he “has suffered actual, consequential and incidental financial losses” and that his “constructive discharge” violated anti-discrimination laws.
The Post has sought comment from Bechiom, Taco Bell, Alvarado Restaurant Group and the LAPD.
