A former Taco Bell employee in California says she was targeted for harassment and retaliation after speaking up about a wild holiday party at her workplace that included public sex between employees and the ruination of a guacamole bowl, according to the complaint reviewed by Law&Crime.
Alana Bechiom sued the fast food taco giant in Los Angeles court, alleging that she was all but forced to quit her job after reporting the events of a debauchery-filled December 2022 Christmas party at the location where she was working as a cashier.
In her complaint, filed earlier this month, Bechiom says that the party was pitched as a “potluck-styled buffet” and that her manager, Lidia Ruiz, advised that alcohol would be served. Bechiom, accompanied by her sister and her sister’s significant other, showed up with a bowl of guacamole.
FILE – A sign hangs at a Taco Bell on May 23, 2014, in Mount Lebanon, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
According to the lawsuit, something was amiss from the start.
“When they arrived, [Bechiom] discovered that Defendant Ruiz covered the windows of the restaurant with wrapping paper,” the complaint says. “Defendant Ruiz also covered the cameras for the lobby in the inside of the restaurant.”
As the night went on, Bechiom says, things took a turn.
Per the complaint:
During the party alcohol was provided by Defendant Ruiz and numerous individuals were overserved. Around midnight, Plaintiff, who had been socializing outside the restaurant for a short while, walked back into the restaurant and witnessed her coworker, Jonathan, having sex with his wife in front of everyone at the party. His wife was bent over and was kissing both Defendant Ruiz and another coworker, Adriana, simultaneously. Plaintiff was shocked, disgusted and outraged by what she saw and ran outside.
After a short time, Bechiom went back inside, where she saw two people getting sick.
“One vomited in the trash, and the other in Plaintiff’s guacamole bowl,” the complaint says.
When Bechiom complained to Ruiz, her coworker, identified in the complaint only as Adriana, “stated that she wanted to physically fight Plaintiff at that point. Thankfully no fight occurred because Plaintiff was able to deescalate the situation.”
Two days later, Bechiom reported the incident to Taco Bell’s Human Resources department, as well as the company she believed to be the owner of the franchise where she worked. The following day, after an investigation, Ruiz was fired, as were Bechiom’s coworkers Jonathan and Adriana.
According to the complaint, retaliation against Bechiom started shortly thereafter.
“On or about December 22, 2022, someone associated with Defendants retaliated against Plaintiff and smashed out the back left window of Plaintiff’s car at her home in the middle of the night,” the complaint says. “Plaintiff then began to receive numerous threats of violence from multiple coworkers. For example, one of Plaintiff’s female coworkers texted Plaintiff ‘baby girl I wanna break your face [I don’t give a f—] about your car.’ The coworker also stated that ‘you’ve been running your mouth for the longest so run them hands b—-.””
“Plaintiff feared for her safety,” the complaint adds.
Other threats of violence against Bechiom, her boyfriend, and the father of her child followed, according to the filing. When Bechiom reported the threats, however, she was told that instead of disciplinary measures being taken against her coworkers, she was being transferred to a new location, the lawsuit stated. Bechiom, “overcome with significant stress, physical and mental illness and anxiety from the hostile work environment,” quit on Christmas Eve.
Her lawsuit alleges discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, constructive termination, and labor violations. She seeks a jury trial and an unspecified amount of damages.
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