In 2010, plaintiff Stacie Garza, a waitress in her 20s, worked at Don’s Country Kitchen and Village Grille, both located in Carlsbad and owned by the same person. She claimed that at around this time, her supervisor at both restaurants, Roberto Sanchez, who was the owner’s husband and also served as a cook, subjected her to sexually explicit gestures, improper touching, lewd comments and propositions. Garza claimed that when she complained about the sexual harassment to other supervisors and managers, she was informed that her services were no longer needed at Don’s Country Kitchen. However, she continued to work at Village Grille on a part-time basis, until she eventually left for a new job in June 2012. Garza sued Don’s Country Kitchen, Village Grille and Sanchez. She alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The matter proceeded to a bench trial. Garza claimed that Sanchez’s conduct was highly inappropriate, which included him making sexually explicit gestures with his hands and tongue, intentionally brushing up against her, touching her buttocks, and blocking her path in tight spaces to initiate physical contact. Garza also claimed that Sanchez once propositioned her when she mentioned she needed money to buy a house and that in another incident, Sanchez nearly stuck his hand down her pants toward her genitals before she pulled his hand out. In addition, she claimed that when she brought up his wife, Sanchez remarked, “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Garza alleged that although she was initially hired in October 2008, Sanchez’s sexual harassment didn’t start until 2010. She also alleged that after she complained about his conduct, Sanchez began to refuse filling her orders and ignore her requests for special orders on behalf of customers. Garza further alleged that when she complained about Sanchez’s conduct, she was retaliated against by losing her position at Don’s Country Kitchen, which was the far more lucrative of her two waitress jobs, and that this caused her to ultimately seek new employment. The defendants denied that any harassment occurred, including all the allegations made by Garza. Instead, they claimed that Garza lost her position at Don’s Country Kitchen because she was a bad employee in that she was not a “team player” and would constantly complain. The defendants further claimed that Garza’s hours were reduced at Village Grille in order to train new employees., Garza claimed she suffered emotional distress as a result of the incidents. She also claimed she suffered a loss of income at trial as a result of the loss of her job at Don’s Country Kitchen and the reduction of her hours at Village Grille.