Ex-Workers Claim Sex Harrassment at NYC Restaurant

Four women who worked at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone in Times Square have accused the restaurant of presiding over a sexually charged work environment so bad that it led to a rape.

They filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan. The suit seeks $600 million in damages.

A telephone message left at the restaurant was not immediately returned.

The lawsuit claims supervisors groped and sexually harassed the staff regularly, and a former manager raped one of the plaintiffs in a cab in September 2006. The lawsuit says she reported the incident to police seven months later, and the manager was fired. It’s unclear whether he was charged with any crime.

The eatery advertises itself as “The Hottest Place on Earth” and urges patrons to vote for their favorite bikini-clad waitresses.