Taco Bell Sued By Former Employee Over Debauched Holiday Party

Taco Bell and a Colorado-based franchisee were sued by a former cashier after she was forced to quit after reporting a debauched holiday party to the restaurant’s human resources department, the New York Post first reported.

Alana Bechiom, her sister and her sister’s significant other said they attended a Christmas party at the Taco Bell location where she was employed in San Pedro, Calif., last December at the invitation of her supervisor, Lidia Ruiz, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seen by the Post.

The potluck-style affair became raucous, as several employees were “overserved” alcohol and Bechiom witnessed one co-worker allegedly “having sex with his wife in front of everyone at the party.” The woman was allegedly kissing Ruiz and another co-worker, the Post reported, citing the complaint.

She was “shocked, disgusted and outraged by what she saw and ran outside,” according to the lawsuit, and upon her return saw Ruiz and another employee vomiting — one into a trash can and Ruiz into a guacamole bowl brought by Bechiom.

Ruiz had also allegedly covered the restaurant’s windows and lobby cameras with wrapping paper, the complaint said.

Bechiom reported the episode to human resources and the location’s operator, Alvarado Restaurant Group, days later, which resulted in the termination of Ruiz and co-workers involved in the public sex display, the Post reported.

Bechiom was allegedly retaliated against by “someone associated with” Ruiz and the other fired employees, who allegedly broke the back left window of her car, which was parked at her home. She also allegedly received text messages threatening to “break your face” and calling her “stupid n f----d up.”

Despite reporting the incidents to the Los Angeles Police Department and upper-level employees at Taco Bell, Bechiom claimed the restaurant and franchisee “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.”

Less than a week after the party, Bechiom “felt so overcome with significant stress, physical and mental illness and anxiety from the hostile work environment” that she quit, according to the complaint.

It is not known how much Bechiom is seeking in damages, the Post reported.

Taco Bell told The Messenger it doesn't own or manage the location, but the franchisee who does "has shared that they take these claims very seriously."